To the darker side she goes
by babymene17
Summary: After an dramatic breakup with Raoul, Christine meets a masked Erik and joins his punk rock band. Chapter 28 is up! And now the end is near...Please read and review!
1. Betrayal

"So everything was a lie?"

January 24, 2005. Christine stared straight ahead as everything she knew came crumbling down. She looked up at the clock in Raoul's Subaru. It was five.

"Yes," answered a seemingly upset Raoul.

"You lied to me for a month…what about when we…"

"It meant nothing…it was just lust…"

Christine sighed. She held back her tears as she picked up a picture of the two of them together. They were in the band room, after a football game still in uniform. Christine was kissing the cheek of a smiling Raoul.

"What about in this picture? Was this a lie too?"

"I don't know…"

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? You wouldn't have told me in the first place if I hadn't wanted to know what was wrong. Why did you lie to me for a month!"

Christine had begun to cry again as Raoul tried to explain.

"I guess I thought I could love you again. But I realized I didn't love you anymore after we saw Phantom of the Opera for the first time."

The anger was burning up inside of her. How could he use her like that? TWO YEARS! They were together for two years and he didn't think enough of her to tell her the truth and be honest with her. They even saw Phantom of the Opera! Twice! He actually comforted her when she cried for Erik. She knew exactly how Erik felt now. How it felt to have your heart ripped out and stomped on by lies and deceit. She looked at the picture still in her shaking hands. She slowly ripped it up.

"Take me home…I have to return your things…"

The ride home was silent; the only noise punctuating the silence was Christine's tears of betrayal. They reached her house and Raoul parked. Christine did not get out, but started to sing a song she used to sing him,

_Alone for a while,_

_I've been searching through the dark,_

_For traces of the love you left,_

_Inside my lonely heart…_

Raoul looked at her.

"Don't sing that or I won't be able to do this…"

Christine's temper got the best of her.

"Well…we wouldn't want that would we!"

She jumped out of the car and ran to the front door. She opened the door and started to cry again. Her mother said something to her but she did not stop to reply. Christine ran up the stairs and down the hall to her room. Frantically, she searched for all of the meaningless junk that he had given her. Raoul entered the room. She grabbed a picture frame contain a happy picture of them at prom together and threw it to the ground. It shattered into a million pieces at his feet.

"Take your shit and leave!"

Raoul grabbed a few things and left. Christine fell to the ground, her body rocked with frantic sobs.

'Now I know how Erik felt…'


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I owned Erik…alas, I don't.

**Sorry for not putting any disclaimer at the beginning of the last chapter. This is the first of my stories I've put up and I wasn't sure how to do everything. Well, here's the next chapter!**

'How I hate school…'

Christine Day stared out of a window in the English pod. It was another dreary day, when the clouds just couldn't make up their minds whether it was to rain or not. It had been a few weeks since the break-up. She was pretty much ok, except when memories came flooding back to her.

"I'm glad I could make you so happy…"

She had said that to Raoul when she saw him bouncing up and down in the Math pod the morning after. He was looking at Phantom of the Opera postcards. Stupid fck.

She sighed as she pushed the memory away in her mind. Instead, she thought about band.

'Another practice listening to him laughing with his damn trombone friends…'

Christine left her place at the window, her long black coat flowing behind her.

'How morbid I've become…'

She had become much darker since the 'event', but she actually liked herself better this way. A love for the darker things in life had always called to her. Now, she embraced those things. She had dyed her once blond locks black and cut it in an Ashlee Simpson style. She also carried a black rose with her, which had a black ribbon tied around the stem. It reminded her of Erik…

"Hey Christine!"

She spun around to see her friend Meg Gerry calling her. She had gotten to know Meg a lot more recently. They didn't really have a chance to talk much before.

Meg also sported a black coat, but her hair was brown with faint blue highlights. Faint because the school didn't allow "unnatural" hair coloring at school. Apparently, high school students couldn't handle it.

"Hey Meg! What's up?" Christine asked her friend.

Meg looked at her warily. "Ummm…"

Christine narrowed her dark blue eyes. "Meg…what is it…"

Meg sighed. "Okay…here it is…Raoul is going out with Carlotta…"

Christine was stunned. "What!"

"I know! She actually called herself your friend!" Meg yelled in frustration.

Christine was surprised, but not as upset as she should be. I mean, she was mad at how deceitful they turned out to be. Raoul was going out with Carlotta, the girl his best friend had a major crush on. She remembered how hard he had tried to get the two of them together. And the many hours they had all spent hanging out.

Christine grimaced.

"Well…I'm happy for them."

Meg looked at her surprised.

"What?"

Christine smiled at Meg.

"I am happy for them. They deserve each other. They are both hideously ugly, inside and out!" She said with a laugh.

Meg joined in with Christine's laughing.

"Yeah, I know, I always hated him mustache! I just didn't tell you cause I didn't want you to get mad at me!"

Christine gave a snort.

"Trust me, I hated his stupid mustache and his bowl-cut hair. And the way he dressed! What a fop!"

Meg and Christine continued to laugh as they walked to the Math pod. Christine smiled at her new friend. She was actually glad it was over with Raoul. She was finally her own person. Not someone's depressed girlfriend. She glanced at a Math pod windowas she walked by. It had started raining.

'Another beautiful day…'

**Erik will make an appearance in the next chapter and the real story will start. These first two chapters were just necessary to set the story. Please review! Love and Peace!**


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: If I did own POTO, I would be a very HAPPY PIE!

**I don't know if anyone is actually reading this, but I'm going to continue anyway. Well, Erik appears in this chapter! In all his dark glory! MWAAAHHHH! Okay, not that dark…**

"Oh God! Can't be late AGAIN!"

Christine was running down the band hall muttering curses to everything from Smaug to small bits of fuzz. Being the daydreamer that she was, Christine completely lost track of time while gazing at the falling rain. The result was earning several glares from the snobby Wind Ensemble kids as she rushed by. (She was in Symphonic band, which was below Wind Ensemble)

Anyway, she made it to the band room with no time to spare. She clambered over the sea of backpacks to her cubbie (which was falling apart…the band room is really old…) and pulled out her French Horn. After maneuvering through the percussionists, she found her place as last chair of the French Horns. (She didn't practice…at all…).

"I've got the music all set out and I'll turn the page and switch pieces!" Jammes, the extremely annoying chair in front of Christine, said.

"Okay…whatever…" Christine said, wondering why she always ended up with the eager band kids as music partners.

Mr. Hilbert, the assistant band director, had finished taking roll (which took a long time; there were a lot of band geeks at Christine's school) and told the less than thrilled band students to be quiet (which also took a long time…same reason).

"Okay! Shut up! Do you really want me to yell at you for an hour and a half?" he challenged the class.

Christine smirked.

'Oh yeah…I'm really scared of someone who's shorter than me even on a podium…'

The class eventually fell silent and Hilbert gave them a glare.

"Okay. Now then. As you all know, one of the pieces we are performing requires a piano player. I would like to introduce you to Erik Destler, who will fill that requirement. Erik?"

A very tall figure in black appeared in the door way. Christine looked up at him and gasped. He was wearing a half mask!

'He must be a Phantom fan! Awesome!'

She smiled to herself as she saw the other side of his face.

'Wow! Very nice! He looks like Lestat in Queen of the Damned…'

She heard snickering coming from the trombone section as Erik made his way to the piano. It was, of course, the uber Fop Raoul along with his other foppish friends.

'He is so gonna get punjabbed…'

>

Christine was still in a daze after band practice. Erik was such an amazing musician! He made an extremely dull piece of band music so moving that she actually had to stop playing to wipe her eyes during the slow, pretty section.

She smiled to herself as she unlocked her Forest Green '98 Honda Accord (sounds like a car advertisement), thinking about him. She had to meet him! Christine pulled out her POTO soundtrack and put it into her ghetto CD player. She was just pulling out of her parking space as the spine-tingling intro blasted in her speakers.

"Oh yeah! I definitely have to meet him!"

**YAY! The real story begins! I have many interesting things planned for this phic, which involve many of my favorite songs. HAPPY PIE! Love and Peace!**


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own Erik in my DREAMS! YAY!

**I'm so glad that I'm getting reviews, even if three of them are from Iris Knotwise, who is also my prom date! Here's the next chapter, which is longer! **

Something very strange came over Christine. For once, she actually was excited for band practice. Unfortunately, that only comes once a week, so her unrequited love had to deal until Tuesday. This was much easier said than done because it felt like waiting for summer vacation, which is VERY hard to wait for. (Especially to a senior…senioritis is hell…)

Anyway, when Tuesday finally arrived, Christine made sure she looked perfect before heading off to school. As eager as she was to look her best, her Art teacher didn't seem to care as she gave her another tardy.

"Great, one more and I get detention. Again." She muttered to herself.

She sighed as she placed her stuff next to her table and sat down. Christine looked up and received a great shock.

Sitting across from her was the mysterious, piano playing Erik Destler, still in his half mask.

"I didn't know you had this class!" Christine said rather loudly to herself.

Erik looked at her curiously.

"Ummm…I just switched classes?" He offered as an explanation.

"Oh! Okay! Hello, I'm Christine Day, senior and very proud of it!" She said with a winning smile.

Erik raised his eyebrows.

"I'm Erik Destler, also a senior, and you are very enthusiastic for A block."

Christine laughed a little and scratched her head like anime characters (AND SORA!) do.

'Enthusiastic yes, but certainly not for art…'

Mrs. Ritchell, the annoyingly perky art teacher, had finished cheerfully calling role (much to Christine's disgust…) and had begun to instruct the class on a new project they were starting on. Ink wash. Not that hard.

Christine couldn't stop looking at Erik! Occasionally, she would steal a glance at him until she thought it was getting suspicious and looked away. On closer inspection, Erik had dark brown hair that was naturally wavy and messy and fell to his chin. Part of his hair fell gracefully into his stormy grey eyes as he worked on his art project. (Yeah…if I was Christine, I wouldn't be able to stop looking either…)

She desperately tried to start a conversation.

"So…" She said in a hopefully casual voice, "You…play the piano…"

Erik looked at her strangely.

"How did you know that?" He asked her.

'STUPID!' She was yelling to herself in her unique mind.

"Ummm…I'm in Symphonic band…and I heard you at practice…" She said quickly, turning red.

"Oh yeah…practice is today…" He said looking crestfallen, "That the reason I'm not in the school band, I really hate after school practices!"

Christine laughed.

"Yeah, I hate them too…so why did you volunteer to play with the band if you hate the practices?"

Erik sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I play guitar and keyboard for a local band and I was practicing the piano when Hilbert heard me and begged me to help. My father is friends with Hilbert so I couldn't say know," Erik explained.

Christine grimaced.

"UGH! Hilbert is such a prick! Your father is actually friends with him? I thought his only friends were Cook and the Wind Ensemble kids who suck up to all the band teachers…"

"Yep…" Erik said, returning to his art project. He obviously didn't want to talk about Hilbert and his father's bizarre friendship. Christine didn't blame him.

She was eager to keep a conversation going, though.

"So what is your band called? Maybe I've heard of it," She asked.

Erik looked at her and smiled.

"Mask and Black Rose. As you can probably tell, I am reallyobsessed with The Phantom of the Opera," He said, pointing to the mask.

"That is AWESOME! I love Phantom!" She practically screamed, "Why haven't I heard of you all before!"

"We really just started," Erik explained, "Since I'm not in the school band, I enjoy music this way. I really like composing music."

'Wow…' Christine said to herself as she told him "that's cool…"

Mrs. Ritchell announced "clean up time" and all the artistic artists (lol…) put away the art supplies.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at good old band practice," Erik said as they made their way back to the rickety, paint stained table.

Christine flashed another winning smile.

"Okay. See you then," She said, trying to sound cool.

The bell rang and everyone left the art room. Christine was the last to leave because she couldn't contain her excitement.

'OK, I REALLY can't wait for band practice!'

**YAY! If anyone was wondering why I changed Christine's appearance, I just wanted to stay away from the stereotypical phan phiction Christine. I did say that this was not your average phic…LOVE AND PEACE! KUPO!**


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO or the music from ALW's masterpiece. If I did, I would very rich and I would own all the POTO souvenirs in the WORLD!

**Thank you all so much for reviewing, it really makes my day! I was worried at first that no one would read my phic and that made me a sad panda…here's the next chapter!**

'Only five more minutes! Please let us go early!"

Christine was in band practice, anxiously awaiting the announcement that they were done. She kept looking at the TV clock the whole practice and each time had discovered, much to her dismay that only a minute or two had gone by since the last time she looked.

Erik was there at the piano, playing beautifully again. She couldn't wait to talk to him! He was such a mysterious person with his half mask and she found him fascinating.

"Damn Raoul…I really would have liked to have talk to him earlier but you just had to show up in the band room…with Carlotta…

It made her blood boil just thinking about how they had just waltzed into the band room, holding hands and being there ugly selves.

Christine, confidence gone, had retreated to a dark corner of the band room and headed outside to a windy day. She had walked along the vocational sidewalk, her black coat flowing dramatically, and stopped to pick the flowers that grew there.

_Even though they are weeds, _she had thought, _they're still beautiful…_

Lost in thought, Christine's wish came true as Hilbert gave them leave to go. She gathered her music and stuffed it in her doodle covered folder. She weaved through the rather pushy band kids and made it to her cubbie, putting her French Horn in it's case. She paused and looked at her music wondering if she should bring her instrument home.

'Nah…I'm not going to bother…I know I won't practice…'

Christine grabbed her bag and books and searched for Erik. She smiled as she saw him still looking at his music. She walked across the emptying band room to the piano and stood behind him.

"Still practicing? I thought you hated to."

He looked up at her and smiled.

"I'm not and I do," he replied.

Christine laughed and looked at the title of the piece. It was _Think of Me_.

"Do you know how to play it?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah…I told you I was obsessed," he answered with a smirk.

The band room was empty. Erik looked at her and started to play.

Christine's heart raced. She started to sing the words she knew by heart…

_Think of me,_

_Think of me fondly when _

_We've said goodbye._

_Remember me,_

_Once in a while_

_Please promise me you'll try._

_When you find,_

_That once again you long,_

_To take your heart back and be free,_

_If you ever find a moment,_

_Spare a thought for me…_

Christine smiled as Erik looked at her surprised. She moved to the front of the piano and continued to sing…

_We never said,_

_Our love was evergreen,_

_Or as unchanging as the sea, _

_But please promise me,_

_That sometimes,_

_You will think of me._

_Think of all the things_

_We've shared and seen,_

_Don't think about the things_

_Which might have been…_

_Think of me,_

_Think of me waking,_

_Silent and resigned._

_Imagine me,_

_Trying to hard_

_To put you from my mind._

_Recall those days,_

_Look back on all those times,_

_Think of the things_

_We'll never do._

_There will never be_

_A day when_

_I won't think of you!_

At these words, Christine's eyes met Erik's. She smiled again and sang,

_Flowers fade,_

_The fruits of summer fade,_

_They had their season_

_So do we,_

_But please promise me,_

_That sometimes,_

_You will think…_

'Oh please don't let me mess this up!' she thought frantically to herself as she sang,

_Of…me!_

Christine laughed as she finished the song. Erik looked at her with a disbelieving look on his face.

Christine frowned.

"What! Was I THAT bad!" she said, pouting a little.

"No!" Erik said immediately, "You did great…"

Christine smiled contently and skipped around the band room. Erik gathered his music and shook his head.

"You are very energetic, aren't you?" he said, watching her progress.

"Yep!" she said as she jumped over to him.

They looked at each other in silence for a moment until Erik shyly looked away.

"Ummm…" he started, "My band is performing this Friday…I was wondering if you would like to come…"

"Of course!" she said, probably too excitedly to sound cool.

"Great…" Erik said as he met her eyes again and smiled.

They walked out of the band room together, through the Dome lobby and to the parking lot. Christine reached her car first.

"Well, I guess I'll see you during art," she said unlocking her car.

"Yeah…I hope Mrs. Ritchell is sick tomorrow. She's way too cheerful in the mornings…" Erik said with a disgusted look on his face.

"UGH! Tell me about it! It's so annoying when she cheerfully give you a referral for tardies. Stupid Juanita…" she muttered darkly.

Erik laughed.

"Yeah, well, see you later!"

"Bye!" Christine replied.

Do I really need to tell you that Christine was grinning ear to ear as she drove home? Probably not. You'd do the same thing if you were her. I know I would!

**YAY! I hope you liked it! Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Erik owns my heart but sadly, I don't own his…I also don't own Helena by MCR, Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day, or Hysteria by Muse. I wish I did…

The T rating is for language, just so you know. It isn't really bad...

**Hey! I've been really busy lately, getting ready for prom and band and stuff like that. I actually wrote this chapter during a band concert last night on copies of music, earning many whispers behind me. I guess it's weird if you write during a band concert. PEOPLE ARE STUPID! **

'Wow…I should come here more often…'

It was Friday night, and Christine was at Erik's band's concert. There were a lot of people in the crowd because more than one band was performing. It was a battle of the bands or something.

So far, only one band had performed. Actually, you really couldn't call it a band because it consisted of two guys attempting to play acoustic guitar while singing incoherent lyrics. Everyone was glad when they finished.

"Are you having fun?" a voice behind her said.

A little surprised, Christine turned around to face Erik. He still wore a mask, but instead of his usual one, it was a full blood red mask that covered the top part of his face. He wore his usual black.

"Hey! Yeah! I am! This is really fun! I came here with Meg Gerry, but she's over there flirting…typical Meg!" she said, laughing.

Erik smiled.

"That's good, I'm glad you're here. I was sort of worried you wouldn't come…" he said, drifting off.

"Of course I came! I said I would! So when is your band performing?" she asked.

"After this next one," he answered.

"Are you nervous?"

Erik shook his head.

"No. We play so much that I don't really get nervous anymore," he said, "and I definitely know we are much better than the first guys who went."

"Yeah…they weren't very good."

The next band had started to play Muse's Hysteria.

Erik looked at her.

"Ummm…do you want to dance?" he asked shyly.

"Of course!" she yelled over the noise, "I love this song!"

The band was playing so loud you couldn't hear the lead singer, but Christine knew the lyric. So did Erik.

_It's bugging me, grating me_

_And twisting me around_

_Yeah I'm endlessly caving in_

_And turning inside out_

'_Cause I want it now_

_I want it now_

_Give me your heart and your soul_

_And I'm breaking out_

_I'm breaking out_

_Last chance to lose control_

Erik and Christine looked into each other's eyes as they sang the lyrics and danced to the music. The moved even closer to each other as they sang…

_It's holding me, morphing me _

_And forcing me to strive_

_To be endlessly cold within_

_And dreaming I'm alive_

'_Cause I want it now_

_I want it now_

_Give me your heart and your soul_

_I'm not breaking down_

_I'm breaking out _

_Last chance to lose control!_

Erik slipped his arms around her waist. She put hers around his neck his and sang…

_And I want you now_

_I want you now_

_I'll feel my heart implode _

_I'm breaking out_

_Escaping now_

_Feeling my faith erode!_

The song ended and Christine and Erik were still in each other's arms. They were very close, face to face. Christine, heart racing, saw Erik close his eyes and lean in to kiss her. She was closing her eyes when…

"Next up, Mask and Black Rose!"

Erik's eyes sprang open in surprise. He looked extremely disappointed as he whispered a quick, "Sorry, this is for you!" and ran to the stage.

'DAMN IT!' Christine cursed to herself as she pushed her way to the stage.

She saw Erik grab his guitar and moved to the microphone. (He was the lead singer…of course!)

"Hey!" he yelled into the microphone, "We're Mask and Black Rose and we hope you vote for us!"

Everyone gave a loud applause as the music started.

_Long ago _

_Just like the hearse you die to get in again _

_We are so far from you…_

Christine quickly looked up in surprise. It was Helena by My Chemical Romance. She loved this song! She had told Erik how much she liked them, but didn't expect him to remember. She caught his eye and he winked at her.

_Burning on just like a match you strike to incinerate _

_The lives of everyone you know _

_And what's the worst you take (worst you take)_

_from every heart you break (heart you break)_

_And like the blade you stain (blade you stain)_

_Well I've been holding on tonight_

_What's the worst that I can say?_

_Things are better if I stay _

_So long and goodnight _

_So long and goodnight_

Christine had started dancing and singing along. She was careful to stay out of the mosh pit though. She didn't think she would make it out alive if she got involved.

_Came a time _

_When every star fall brought you to tears again _

_We are the very hurt you sold _

_And what's the worst you take (worst you take)_

_from every heart you break (heart you break)_

_And like the blade you stain (blade you stain)_

_Well I've been holding on tonight _

_What's the worst that I can say? _

_Things are better if I stay _

_So long and goodnight _

_So long and goodnight _

_And if you carry on this way _

_Things are better if I stay _

_So long and goodnight _

_So long and goodnight_

"Wow! They're awesome!" she heard Meg say to her. Meg was dancing with some guy she picked up. Christine had to agree with her. Erik's voice was so hypnotizing!

_Can you hear me? _

_Are you near me? _

_Can we pretend to leave and then_

_We'll meet again_

_When both our cars collide?_

_Chorus_

_What's the worst that I can say? _

_Things are better if I stay _

_So long and goodnight _

_So long and goodnight _

_And if you carry on this way _

_Things are better if I stay _

_So long and goodnight _

_So long and goodnight_

The song ended to enthusiastic applause, Christine clapping and screaming the loudest. Erik smiled at her as they began to play another song. It was Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

_I walk a lonely road_

_The only one that I have ever known_

_Don't know where it goes_

_But it's home to me and I walk alone_

_I walk this empty street_

_On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams_

_Where the city sleeps_

_and I'm the only one and I walk alone_

_I walk alone_

_I walk alone_

_I walk alone_

_I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me_

_My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating_

_Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me_

_'Til then I walk alone_

'I love this song!' Christine thought to herself.

Apperentely, so did Erik. She could tell he was pouring his soul into his performance. Christine stood there, transfixed by him, feeling like the lyrics were more personal to him than she could have imagined.

_I'm walking down the line_

_That divides me somewhere in my mind_

_On the border line_

_Of the edge and where I walk alone_

_Read between the lines_

_What's fucked up and everything's alright_

_Check my vital signs_

_To know I'm still alive and I walk alone_

_I walk alone_

_I walk alone_

_I walk alone_

_I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me_

_My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating_

_Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me_

_'Til then I walk alone_

The strangest thing happened. Erik's mask started to slip off and he frantically pushed it back, momentarily breaking his hypnotizing spell.

'Huh…' she wondered, "why does he always wear that mask?"

_Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah_

_Ah-ah, Ah-ah_

_I walk alone_

_I walk a..._

_I walk this empty street_

_On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams_

_Where the city sleeps_

_And I'm the only one and I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me_

_My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating_

_Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me_

_'Til then I walk alone..._

Christine pushed the incident out of her mind as they finished. Again, the applause was great.

"Okay! Thanks a lot!" Erik yelled, slightly hoarse, into the microphone.

Final applause erupted as Erik collected his guitar and got off stage. Christine went to met him.

He was talking to some of his band members as she screamed and gave him a hug.

"You all did awesome!"

The band all said "Thank You" as Erik smiled at her. His face was red from performing.

"Thanks!" he said, hugging her back.

She pulled away, still beaming at him.

"There is no way you all won't win! The other bands can't compare! No contest!"

Erik smiled, turning even redder than before.

"We weren't _that_ great…"

"Yes you were!" Christine insisted.

"Okay! Whatever!" he said throwing his hands up in defeat.

The next band turned out to be friends of the first, so needless to say, the place was emptying rather quickly.

"So…" Erik said, trying to make conversation, "do you have to go home?"

Christine shook her head.

"Nope!" she said happily, "my mom's in California, so I can stay out as late as I want!"

"Good! So…are you hungry?" he asked.

"A little," Christine answered, "do you wanna go to Waffle House?"

"Sure! That's about the only place opened at this time of night, huh?"

"Yeah…" Christine said, as the walk to their cars, "and I love Waffles!"

**Wow! This was a long chapter! I hope I did okay combining the story and the lyrics together. I listened to the songs as I was typing this so I would feel more inspired. Oh, and please pray that it doesn't rain on Saturday! That's my prom and I don't wanna get my purty dress all wet. It already weighs a ton! LOVE AND PEACE! KUPO!**


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Erik, Adult Swim, Waffle House, or Fullmetal Alchemist. If anyone knows the people who do, I wanna talk to 'em!

**Hey! I want to thank all of you for the great reviews I've been getting! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was all in a fuss about Prom (it actually snowed the morning after) and I had to go to Nashville for a band festival. I did get a cool Inuyasha shirt and The Used's newest CD, which I luv! I'm definitely going to have to put some of their songs in this phic. Well, here's the adventure at Waffle House, which made me really hungry when I wrote it!**

"How many?" A sleepy looking waitress asked.

"Two and no smoking," Erik replied.

It was 12:30 early Saturday morning at Waffle House. The only people there were the sleep deprived waitress, a cook reading Friday's newspaper, and a rather shifty looking truck driver. Christine and Erik made sure to be seated far away from him.

The waitress gave them laminated menus.

"What do you wanna drink?" she asked lazily.

"Christine, in need of caffeine, ordered a coke while Erik ordered coffee. The waitress yawned and went to fill the orders.

"Coffee? I've tried to drink it, but I like the smell much more than the taste," Christine said looking at her menu.

"You really have to acquire a taste for it," Erik replied as the waitress brought the drinks. She pulled out an order pad and smacked her gum as she pulled a pencil from behind her ear.

"What'll you have?" she asked.

"Well, I guess I'll have a waffle…" Christine said, shrugging "It is waffle house…"

"Just one, honey? You should have two…" The waitress said, uttering Christine's least favorite word used in the south.

"But the waffles here are huge!" Christine explained.

The waitress shrugged and asked Erik what he wanted.

"I'll be a coffee drinking rebel and get two waffles," Erik said smirking at Christine.

"You think you're so bad ass…" she said, sticking her tough out.

The waitress walked away as Christine took a sip of her coke. Like at most restaurants, it was flat.

"So…come here often?" she asked.

"Only when there aren't many people. I really don't like cigarette smoke."

Christine nodded. There was silence until Christine noticed the time.

"Oh! Adult Swim!" she exclaimed.

Christine got up and changed the TV from a rerun of the local news, much to the annoyance of the shifty truck driver, to Cartoon Network. It was on a commercial break. You know those cake commercials that come on late at night and make you mad when you crave cake but can't have it! Stupid Betty Crocker…

Anyway, Inuyasha came back on just as they were given their waffles. Erik looked at his.

"I'd forgotten how big they were…"

Christine laughed.

"Hah! So much for the coffee drinking rebel!"

She commenced cutting up her waffle and pouring syrup on it. Satisfied with her work, she stuffed a huge piece in her mouth. She looked up to see Erik staring at her.

"Wha!" she said, mouth over flowing with waffle.

Erik smiled and shook his head.

"Nothing! So, you like Adult Swim?"

Christine nodded vigorously and swallowed.

"Yes! The only problem is that I usually fall asleep during it!"

Christine laughed as Kagome told Inuyasha to "SIT!"

"I love Inuyasha," she said looking back at Erik, "have you seen any of the movies?"

Erik shook his head again as he took a bite of waffle.

"Well, I won't spoil it for you, but the second movie is so sweet!"

They both finished their waffles, Erik actually finished two, but they didn't feel like leaving. So, as not to get kicked out, they ordered several more drinks and toast and watched Super Milk Chan, Cowboy Bebop, and Futurama. Finally, Fullmetal Alchemist came on.

"Yay! My favorite!" Christine screamed.

She threw down her tenth piece of toast and ran over to the TV to turn up the volume. The other occupants, no one had left, looked up from whatever they were doing to watch her. The theme song came on.

_READY STEADY CAN'T HOLD ME BACK_

_READY STEADY GIVE ME GOOD LUCK_

_READY STEADY NEVER LOOK BACK_

_LET'S GET STARTED READY STEADY GO_

_fukitonde yuku fukei korugaru you ni mae e_

_kurushi magure demo hyouteki wa mou minogasanai_

_ate ni naranai chizu yakute shimaeba ii sa_

_uzumoreta shinjitsu kono tenohira de tsukami torou_

_muchuu de (hayaku) kake nukete kita_

_urusai kurai ni harisake sou na kodou no takanari_

_hibite (yonde) iru kimi no koe_

_koko de tachidomaru you na jikan wa nai sa_

_READY STEADY GO_

Christine enthusiastically ran around the restaurant dancing to the song. She didn't know what any of the Japanese lyrics meant, but oh well.

_kazoe kirenai kizu kakae konde ite mo_

_chotto yasotto ja tamashi made wa ubawasenai_

_ano oka no mukou de kimi ni deaeta nara_

_nani kara hana sou sonna koto bakari omou yo_

_muchuu de (hayaku) kake nukete kita_

_urusai kurai ni harisake sou na kodou no takanari_

_hibite (yonde) iru kimi no koe_

_koko de tachidomaru you na jikan wa nai sa_

_READY STEADY GO_

_READY STEADY CAN'T HOLD ME BACK_

_READY STEADY GIVE ME GOOD LUCK_

_READY STEADY NEVER LOOK BACK_

_LET'S GET STARTED READY STEADY GO_

_kokoro wa (hashiru) ano sora no shita_

_karamawari suru kimochi ga sakebi dasu no o tomerarenai_

_kimi made (todoke) kitto ato sukoshi_

_atsuku hizashi ga terasu kono michi no mukou_

_READY STEADY GO_

_PLEASE. TRUST ME._

The song ended to Christine's dramatic flourish and then there was silence. All eyes were on Christine. She clapped her hands and skipped back over to her table to a laughing Erik.

"What?" she asked, taking a sip of her extremely flat coke.

"Nothing, it's just, the look on their faces!" he explained, laughing even harder.

Christine looked over at them. They looked at her warily. She shrugged.

"Whatever," she said," I may be a ditz, but I've spent too much of my life caring what other people think. So now I do what I want, even if that means people thinking I'm strange."

Erik nodded.

"Yeah…some people really care way too much about that. They forget to live in the process."

They watched Fullmetal Alchemist with the Bling it on! commercial during the break. Ghost in the Shell came on after that. Christine hummed along to the theme song and yawned.

"Oh my God!" she said, noticing the clock, "I've never been out this late before!"

Erik yawned too.

"I have…"

Christine looked questioningly at him.

"What about your dad?"

Erik gave a short laugh.

"Like he even notices when I'm there. No, my father and I don't exactly get along."

Christine looked at him sadly.

"I'm sorry…my mom and I don't get along that well either."

They sighed at the same time. Realizing what they did, they looked up and smiled at each other.

Christine yawned again.

"Well…as much as I'd love to stay and eat toast and drink flat coke with you, my contacts are really starting to burn…"

Erik nodded and asked for the checks. Not believing them at first, the waitress eyed them skeptically before handing them their separate checks. Christine looked at hers and laughed. One waffle, a coke with free refills, and ten orders of toast. She pulled out the money, leaving some change for a tip, and walked out to the parking lot with Erik.

"AHHH!" she screamed, "It's freezing!"

Erik laughed and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her to keep her warm.

She blushed slightly and looked up at his face, gazing into his eyes.

'His beautiful grey eyes…'

He tilted her chin up with the tips of his fingers and brought her closer to him. She looked even deeper into his eyes, noticing every fleck of gold as he kissed her.

**Awwww! Phluffy! I kinda screwed up the adult swim schedule. The schedule I wrote in this phic comes on Saturday nights, not Friday. Adult swim doesn't even come on Friday nights. Sorry! I wrote this on a rickety bus going to Nashville, half asleep, so just pretend it's all ok. Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Erik, but I'll own the POTO DVD on Tuesday! I also don't own Ashlee Simpson's Better Off.

**Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm so excited for Tuesday! I'm going to celebrate the day by wearing a mask and a shirt that says MOP THE FOP! And of course I LOVE ERIK! Every POTO phan should join in so it can be MOP THE FOP! day! Enjoy the chapter! **

'Well, I'm sure as hell not eating in there'

It was the Monday after the concert. Christine's math class was having a test that day so they went to first lunch instead of second.

The table she would have sat at became very undesirable when she saw Raoul sitting there, laughing his rage inducing laugh. Christine opted to go out side and read.

She walked outside to a dreary looking day and found a place to sit. She opened her pack of rolls and a powerade and sighed.

'If only Erik were here…'

Just as she thought that, she looked up and saw Erik walk through the doors, wearing his half mask again, looking at the sky. Christine yelled and waved her arms to get his attention and her heart jumped as he smiled and walked over to her.

"Hey!" he said, sitting down, "I didn't know you had this lunch."

"I don't normally; my math class is having a test today, so we have first lunch."

"Oh…" Erik said, looking a little disappointed.

Christine bit into a roll and offered the other to Erik. He accepted.

"So, why aren't you sitting inside?" he asked, "You have a lot of friends don't you?"

Christine sighed.

"I did, until my ex and I broke up, and I got the hint that they only liked me because of him."

"Then they aren't worth it. Anyone who likes Raoul over you has got to be crazy."

Christine looked at his suspiciously.

"How did you know his name is Raoul?"

Erik quickly looked to the ground and sighed.

"Okay, I have to admit it. I've had a crush on you for a really long time…since sophomore year…the first time I saw you…with Raoul…"

Christine blushed and smiled.

"Really?"

Erik looked deep into her eyes.

"Yeah…"

Christine leaned forward and kissed him.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me."

_The sky has fallen_

_And it's early in the morning_

_But it's ok somehow_

_I spilt my coffee, it went_

_All over your clothes_

_I gotta wear mine now_

_And I'm always, always, always late_

_And my hair's a mess,_

_Even when it's straight_

_But so what,_

_I'm better off everyday_

_When I 'm standing in the pouring rain, I don't mind_

_I think of you and everything's alright_

_I used to think I had it good_

_But now I know that I misunderstood_

_With you I'd say, I'm better off in every way_

Erik smiled at her and looked through one of the glass doors of the Cafeteria. From where they were sitting, a perfect view of the previously mention table could be seen. Raoul was still laughing.

Erik looked back at her.

"So what exactly happened?" he asked.

Christine sighed and laughed morbidly.

"Well, not much, I spent two years with him, he told me he loved me, I thought I loved him, I let him treat me like a whore, made me want to kill myself, and then he told me it was over and that he had been lying to me about it for a month! Oh and of course, he acted like he was upset about it, wouldn't tell me much about why it was over, but then he coincidently started dating Carlotta about a week it was over, so then I pretty much knew the reason!"

She threw her arms up in frustration and Erik sighed.

"I'm sorry…that was _really_ low of him."

"That's not even the worst part! During that month, we saw Phantom of the Opera twice! He actually dared to comfort me when I was crying for Erik!" she said, disgusted.

Erik pulled her into his embrace.

"Well, next time you see it, I'll be there with you, and I swear I would never lie to you."

"That's what he said…"

He tilted her chin so she was facing him and looked into her eyes.

"Well, I mean it"

Christine smiled and hugged him.

"Thank you…"

_Things are finally, finally lookin' up_

_Oh my feet are on the ground_

_Even though I'm stuck_

_But so what,_

_I'm better off everyday_

_When I'm standing in the pouring rain, I don't mind_

_I think of you and everything's alright_

_I used to think I had it good_

_But now I know that I misunderstood_

_With you I'd say, I'm better off in every way_

They looked at the stormy, grey clouds in silence, which was broken by Christine's laugh.

"What?" Erik asked her.

"I can't tell you how many times I've wondered what I was on when I went out with him! He is so fugly!"

Erik laughed.

"Yeah…and Carlotta…I've always thought she looked like a transvestite…"

Christine erupted with laughter, causing her to fall off the bench and roll onto the grass.

Erik sprang off the bench like a cat and lay down beside her.

Christine, still laughing, pushed herself up to face Erik, their long coats flowing out, making them look like the wings of a bat.

Erik ran his fingers through her short black hair.

_But so what,_

_I'm better off everyday_

_When I'm standing in the pouring rain, I don't mind_

_I think of you and everything's alright_

_I used to think I had it good_

_But now I know that I misunderstood_

_With you I'd say, I'm better off in every way_

He was leaning in to kiss her again when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. They both groaned and got up to collect their things and walked to the Cafeteria doors. Erik held the door open for her and held out his arm, which she accepted.

'Such a gentleman…'

They walked to Christine's class, Erik not caring if he was late, and smiled at each other.

"Wait!" she said suddenly, stopping in her tracks.

"What?"

"You acted like I was a freak on your first day of Art…why?"

Erik laughed and grabbed her arm again.

"I was trying to act cool. If I had acted like I really felt, you would have thought I was the freak."

Christine smiled to herself as Erik left her at her classroom with a swift kiss on the cheek.

'I highly doubt that…'

_The sky has fallen _

_And it's early in the morning_

_But it's ok_

**Awww! I think you can tell that I love phluff! Don't worry, there will be some drama, if you knew me, you'd know that's what I live on. That and my obsessions. OBSESSION! Anyway, I saw The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy last night! So funny! Marvin is such a cute manic depressed robot! Oh and I loved the trailers before the movie. I really can't wait to see Tim Burton's Corpse Bride! I love Tim Burton's movies and it is the same kind of animation used in the Nightmare Before Christmas, one of my obsessions! Okay, I'll stop babbling! Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own the POTO DVD! Makes me happy! I don't own anything else of POTO, besides some collectables. I also don't own Interlude by MCR, Take Me Out or Dark of the Matinee by Franz Ferdinand. I own copied versions of the CD's though. I also don't own Comedy Central or Jolly Ranchers.

**I got the two-disc DVD yesterday and then I stayed up till 1:00 am watching the extras! I cried during No One Would Listen! I also cried, of course, at the end of the movie. The monkey musical box gets me started and then when he sings "It's over now the music of the night!" I just start bawling! Then when Old Raoul is at the graveyard and he sees Erik's rose, I start up again! Okay, enough babbling! Here's the next chapter!**

**Part of this chapter is a conversation between Christine and Meg on AIM. Meg's lines will be underlined and Christine's will be normal.**

"So are you going out with him?"

Christine was on her laptop, in her messy room, talking to Meg on AIM.

Christine sighed as she typed.

"Why do you want to know?"

A few seconds passed and Meg's reply popped up.

"I'm just looking out for you…"

Christine rolled her eyes and typed.

"Sure. This wouldn't have to do with the fact that you love to have gossip that the preps don't. I seriously doubt they would care if two self appointed social rejects are going out or not."

She pulled up her music files as she waited for Meg's reply.

_So if you're lonely,_

_You know I'm here waiting for you,_

_I'm just a crosshair,_

_I'm just a shot away from you_

_And if you leave here_

_You leave me broken shattered alive_

_I'm just a crosshair_

_I'm just a shot. Then we can die_

_Ooohahhhhh_

_I know I won't be leaving here with you_

"That's not the only reason! I just want to know what's going on with my friend…"

"Well, in answer to your question, he hasn't really asked me, but we kinda act like it."

_I say don't you know_

_You say you don't know_

_I say... take me out_

_I say you don't show_

_Don't move time is slow_

_I say... take me out_

_I say you don't know_

_You say you don't go_

_I say... take me out_

"OOOH…like what?"

"Well, tell each other things, hold hands…kiss…that sort of thing."

_I know I won't be leaving here (with you)_

_I know I won't be leaving here_

_I know I won't be leaving here (with you)_

_I know I won't be leaving here with you_

"How is it?"

Christine laughed and rolled her eyes again.

"Well, much better than Raoul ever was! You like him, don't you?"

"Christine, I haven't met the guy. He's _really_ hot though, I'll give you that!"

"Lol…oh yeah!"

_I say don't you know_

_You say you don't know_

_I say... take me out_

_If I move this could die_

_Eyes move this can die_

_C'mon...take me out_

_I know I won't be leaving here (with you)_

_I know I won't be leaving here_

_I know I won't be leaving here (with you)_

_I know I won't be leaving here with you_

Christine sighed and typed again. The song ended and Dark of the Matinee came on.

"I just don't want it to end up like it did with the uber Fop. How do I know he won't lie to me and cheat on me like he did?"

_You take your white finger_

_Slide the nail under the top and bottom buttons of my blazer_

_Relax the fraying wool, slacken ties_

_And I'm not to look at you in the shoe, but the eyes, find the eyes_

_Find me and follow me through corridors, refectories and files_

_You must follow, leave this academic factory_

_You will find me in the matinee_

_The dark of the matinee_

_It's better in the matinee_

_The dark of the matinee is mine_

_Yes it's mine_

"Well, there's no sure thing it won't, but from what you said, he's crazy about you."

"Well, so was Raoul…at least he _said_ he was…"

_I time every journey to bump into you, accidentally_

_I charm you and tell you of the boys I hate_

_All the girls I hate_

_All the words I hate_

_All the clothes I hate_

_How I'll never be anything I hate_

_You smile, mention something that you like_

_Or how you'd have a happy life if you did the things you like_

_Find me and follow me through corridors, refectories and files_

_You must follow, leave this academic factory_

_You will find me in the matinee_

_The dark of the matinee_

_It's better in the matinee_

_The dark of the matinee is mine_

_Yes it's mine_

"Raoul was scum! He all he was was weak and deceitful, too immature to do anything without the help of his mommy! Forget him! Don't give up your life because of him! Trust me, you will regret it if you let Erik slip away. Hell, if you weren't into him, I would seriously try to get him for myself!"

_So I'm on BBC2 now, telling Terry Wogan how I made it and_

_What I made is unclear now, but his deference is and his laughter is_

_My words and smile are so easy now_

_Yes, it's easy now_

_Yes, it's easy now_

_Find me and follow me through corridors, refectories and files_

_You must follow, leave this academic factory_

_You will find me in the matinee_

_The dark of the matinee_

_It's better in the matinee_

_The dark of the matinee_

"Yeah…I just hope I don't let it get so stressful."

"I'm sure you won't."

_Find me and follow me through corridors, refectories and files_

_You must follow, leave this academic factory_

_You will find me in the matinee_

_The dark of the matinee_

_It's better in the matinee_

_The dark of the matinee is mine_

_Yes it's mine_

"So anyway, why does he wear that mask all the time?"

"I don't really know. He does like Phantom a lot, probably as much as I do."

"Woah…he really is the guy for you…You both even have the same names as the characters."

"Yeah that is kinda weird. My mom named me Christine after a great aunt, and the Day thing was just a strange coincidence. My mom is _not_ the type to like POTO…I wonder if his is a coincidence too…HEY! South Park's on!"

Christine frantically searched her room for the TV remote, throwing more clothes on the floor in the process. She finally found it, under a bunch of Jolly Rancher wrappers and turned it to Comedy Central. It was the Towelie episode, Christine's favorite.

Meg and Christine continued to chat during South Park and signed off when it was over.

Christine, feeling tired, decided to go to sleep earlier than usual. She quickly slipped into oblivion…

She was walking in a meadow of black roses, the sky above heralding the coming of a storm. The powerful wind blew her long white dress behind her, making it appear that she had wings.

Before her stood Erik, dressed in a black tuxedo with a long black cloak and black mask.

She picked a rose from a bush, the thorns cutting her fingers slightly. Not noticing the pain, she noiselessly glided towards Erik and gave him the rose. He said nothing but stared deep into her eyes, with his gold ones.

She quickly removed the black mask with her bleeding fingers. Before she could see what lay beneath, Erik covered his face and screamed curses at her.

_Damn you! _

_You little prying _

_Pandora! _

_You little demon - _

_Is this what you wanted to see? _

_Curse you! _

_You little Iying _

_Delilah! _

_You little viper! _

_Now you cannot ever be free! _

She looked down at the mask in her hands. Instead of black, it was now white with her blood stained all over it. She looked back at Erik, horrified to see his clothes now white with red stains splattered on them.

_Damn you . . . _

_Curse you . . ._

He grabbed the mask from her hands and walked past her to the rose bush. He put the black rose she had given him and it became part of the bush again.

He put the mask back on, and the mask and clothes went back as they were before. The wind blew his cloak. He looked into her eyes again.

"Not yet"

_Since we talked alone..._

_Come angels of unknown... _

_Come angels of unknown..._

Christine awoke suddenly, her heart racing. She squinted at her bedside alarm clock.

3:00.

She shook her head and went back to sleep, forgetting the dream.

_Come angels of unknown..._

**I was a good egg and updated while everyone else was watching Erik for the millionth time…not like I won't be doing that myself…Please review! Thank you for keeping with my story! I hope this chapter didn't suck! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO, Mozart's Marriage of Figaro or Zaide from Ruhe Sanft.

**Thank you all so much for reviewing! I know I say this every time I update, but I really mean it! I am so sorry if you haven't gotten the DVD yet! Make sure you hold out for the two-disc version. The extras are awesome! Here's the next chapter!**

"Christine…wake up…" A soft voice called to her.

She felt someone softly kiss her cheek. Christine opened her eyes to see Erik smiling down at her, the sun shining behind him.

"You look like an angel…" she mumbled sleepily.

"So do you…especially when you sleep…"

They were at the park, spread out on Christine's "I Love Lucy" blanket looking up at the clouds. She had fallen asleep as Erik had sung part of Marriage of Figaro to her.

They had discovered that they shared a love of punk rock and classical music. Rock for how they lived, Opera for the passion that they both had for that life.

Erik's boom box was now playing Christine's downloaded Marriage of Figaro CD.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Not long."

Christine yawned and sat up.

"I want you to hear something."

She searched for her CD case, found it, and pulled out her copied version of Amadeus, disc two. She switched the CD's and put Amadeus in, skipping to number five.

Christine fell back on the blanket as Mozart's Zaide came on.

"It's beautiful," Erik said, lying next to her.

Christine softly sang Mozart's beautiful lyrics as she laid her head on Erik's chest.

'This is heaven,' she thought, closing her eyes.

Erik watched the clouds roll by and ran his fingers through Christine's hair as he listened to her sing.

'This is heaven,' he thought, also closing his eyes.

The song ended and Christine kissed his unmasked cheek. Erik opened his eyes and laughed.

"Now you almost put me to sleep!"

Christine laughed and started to tickle him.

"You aren't ticklish, are you?" she asked playfully.

"Of course not!" he said in a mock serious tone.

Christine narrowed her eyes.

"Well then, you won't mind if I lightly run my fingers over your armpits!"

She attempted to make him laugh, but he kept a straight face.

"Not there?" she asked "Maybe…your stomach!"

Again, she started tickling him, but to no avail.

Erik smirked at her.

"I'll never crack…"

She raised her eyebrows, not being able to give up a challenge.

"Huh, not there, well what about…your feet!"

Erik shot up.

"No!" he said, drawing his feet towards him, hugging them to his chest.

Christine smiled mischievously at him.

"Oh really? Not ticklish? I doubt that…"

Erik started to get up, looking warily at her.

"No…it's not that…I just…"

Christine crawled towards him.

"Then prove it!"

Erik whimpered slightly and reluctantly took off his shoes.

Christine grabbed his foot and had barely touched the bottom of it when Erik gave a high pitched squeal.

Christine looked up at him stunned and collapsed in to a fit of giggles.

"You squealed!" she said, in between laughs.

Erik narrowed his grey eyes.

"Okay!" he yelled in frustration, "I'm really ticklish on my feet! Happy!"

"Yes!" Christine said, still laughing hysterically.

"Well, I bet you're ticklish too!" he said, pinning her to the ground.

Christine struggled to get up, but failed miserably, weak from laughing so much.

"No fair!" she cried, wriggling around, "I'm not as strong as you are!"

Erik smirked at her again.

"Too bad!"

He then proceeded to tickle her until she literally couldn't breathe.

"Please stop!" she said, panting, "I really don't want to be remembered as the only person who died during a tickle fight!"

He let her go and laughed as she attempted to sit up, but collapsed again.

Christine stuck her tongue out at him and smiled as she saw him gazing intently at her.

"What is it?" she asked, stroking the unmasked side of his face.

He placed his hand over hers and kissed her deeply.

Christine eagerly returned his affections, but remembered the fact that they were in a park and pulled away.

"Down boy!" she said in a playful tone, "There are small children around..."

Erik looked at her seriously.

"You sing beautifully."

Christine rolled her eyes.

"No seriously!" he insisted.

Christine sighed and said, "Thank you."

Erik looked away from her and watched the previously mentioned children playing on a small wooden playground. He sighed and looked back at her.

"I wish I had memories of doing that when I was little…"

Christine looked at him puzzled.

"What? Playing on a playground?"

He nodded.

"You never got to do that!" she said, hardly believing him.

"I was home schooled by my father till I was in 8th grade, and he never let me go to parks or anything like that."

"Oh…" Christine said nodding sadly, "no recess in middle school."

"Yeah…" he looked away again, "I hated middle school…"

"UGH! So did I!" Christine said in disgust, "My friends from elementary school totally ditched me in 6th grade. They just stopped talking to me for no reason. Then the one friend I did make moved away!"

"Yeah…by the time I came everyone already had their group of friends. I was pretty much the epitome of a loner."

Christine ran her fingers through his unruly brown hair.

"If only we had met earlier…"

Erik grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"Well, we do have right now."

During their conversation, the sky had grown darker. Christine noticed this and sighed.

"Well, I have to go, my mom will already be mad at me for being late…"

She stood up to go and gathered her stuff. As she made her way to the parking lot, Erik grabbed her hand.

"I'd like to ask you something."

Christine turned to face him.

"What?"

"I know this might sound weird, but I was wondering if you would sing for Mask and Black Rose."

"Why? That's your job…"

"Well, it was, and still sort of is, but on of the other members has to quit so I'll need to take his place. Since you sing so well, I thought you'd like to do it."

Christine jumped up and down excitedly.

"Of course!"

She gave him a quick kiss and started walking to her car when she turned again and looked at the playground. All the children had left because their mommies had called them home.

"Erik…"

"What?"

He noticed what she was looking at and a smiled crossed his face. They looked at each other for a moment and nodded.

"Last one there is gonna get punjabbed!" Christine yelled.

**I was going to put the lyrics of Mozart's Zaide in the chapter, but I couldn't find them! If you are like Leroux's Christine and curiosity is what drives you, it is on the soundtrack of the movie Amadeus, second disc. It really is beautiful. Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing and that's why I'M BROKE! I'm not okay is by MCR, in case you didn't know.

**Ugh! I'm really sorry I haven't updated in a while! I had a little writer's block and school has been really busy lately. But, there are only 3 ½ more days of school and then I can update all the time! Also, 3 days till Episode III! I can't wait! Hayden Christensen is so hot! (squeals delightedly) Okay, well, here's the chapter!**

'Ah! Shut up!'

A week later found Christine on a very old bus heading for a band festival. She turned her portable CD player up even more to block out the deafening sound of 30+ spastic band kids. She really worried about her hearing.

Christine looked to the seat next to her and sighed. Sitting there, or supposed to be sitting there, was one of her band friends. Apparently, she had decided that sitting with Christine just wasn't cool enough and went to sit with other people. But Christine was used to being alone and just used the seat as leg space.

She looked up to the bus TV and saw that Shrek was playing. Although it is a funny movie, it gets a little old after the 7th time.

Just as she was closing her eyes for a much needed nap, she felt that the bus was slowing down and looked up again to see one of the bus chaperones with the worst hair she had ever seen, stand up and grab a microphone.

The chaperone's words were drowned out to Christine by her music, so she rolled her eyes and took one of the headphones off.

"Okay guys," the chaperone said in an extremely southern accent, "We need to be back on the bus no later than 6 o'clock."

"Okay!" the peppy band kids, minus Christine, chorused together.

The bus, which was in fact older than Christine, parked in the parking lot causing all the band kids to stand up and rush to the door, eager to chat merrily with friends on the other buses. Christine was the last to get off, giving her the pleasure of getting a whiff of cigarette smoke from the bus driver.

'God, you just can't wait to kill yourself, can you?' she thought as she watched the cowboy hat clad bus driver.

She turned to watch all 200+ band members run frantically towards the mall and scanned the crowd, hoping to find someone she could talk to. She spotted another friend talking to a group of people and started to walk over to her, but stopped in her tracks when she noticed that one of those people was Raoul.

The hardest part about the breakup was her reluctance towards being around the friends she once shared with Raoul. They just didn't seem to understand that she really didn't want to hear about what Raoul did with Carlotta or a funny joke he had told. So in the end, she decided that it wasn't worth it and pretty much stopped talking to most of them.

She gave a sigh of aggravation and turned up the volume of her CD player even more.

_Well if you wanted honesty, that's all you had to say._

_I never want to let you down or have you go, its better off this way._

_For all the dirty looks, the photographs your boyfriend took,_

_Remember when you broke your foot from jumping out the second floor?_

_I'm not okay_

_I'm not okay_

_I'm not okay_

_You wear me out_

'If only Meg and Erik were here.'

The prospect of going to a band festival first excited Christine, but then when she discovered that they were not going to be performing the piece in which Erik played, her excitement quickly turned to dread. Meg had never been in band so that left her alone with no one on her side.

She walked with her head down glancing up occasionally to see if any one she could trust was around her. She was alone, as usual.

_What will it take to show you that it's not the life it seems?_

_(I'm not okay)_

_I told you time and time again you sing the words but don't know what it means_

_(I'm not okay)_

_To be a joke and look, another line without a hook_

_I held you close as we both shook for the last time take a good hard look!_

_I'm not okay_

_I'm not okay_

_I'm not okay_

_You wear me out_

But what if Erik had been here? How could she know for sure that he could be trusted? What made him different from Raoul?

All of these questions ran through her mind as she found a place on a bench. She shook her head as the previous occupants of the bench looked at her warily with mistrust in their eyes. They obviously thought that Christine was mad delinquent because of her blasting CD player and sullen disposition.

_Forget about the dirty looks_

_The photographs your boyfriend took_

_You said you read me like a book, but the pages are all torn and frayed_

She left the bench, angered by the stares she was getting from the mall patrons and started to run.

_I'm okay_

_I'm okay!_

_I'm okay, now_

_(I'm okay, now)_

_But you really need to listen to me_

_Because I'm telling you the truth_

_I mean this, I'm okay!_

_(Trust Me)_

Tears came to her eyes as she rushed passed the happy people walking by.

'They will never feel alone,' she thought to herself, 'they will always be loved.'

_I'm not okay_

_I'm not okay_

_Well, I'm not okay_

_I'm not o-fucking-kay_

_I'm not okay_

_I'm not okay_

_(Okay)_

Christine ran into a deserted bathroom and rushed to a sink, looking into the slightly dirty mirror at her tear streaked reflection.

'I can't keep living like this…' she thought to herself, 'I don't want to kill myself…'

She backed up to the wall and slumped down to the ground, and put her head in her hands. Her stomach grumbled with hunger given the fact that she hadn't eaten all day.

Christine's thoughts drifted to Erik again, and she smiled as she remembered that day at the park.

'Meg's right…I shouldn't stop living because of Raoul…even if Erik ends up hurting me, I should give it a shot.'

Christine picked herself off the ground and looked into the mirror once more. She smiled at her reflection and rinsed her face.

She exited the bathroom, spirit slightly improved, and headed off to get something to eat with her head held high.

**Okay! I hope this was a good chapter! I wrote this just now with a slight headache, so if it sucks, please, no flames! Find the nearest Fop and take your anger out on them! I will try to update sooner next time. I have a band concert tomorrow and you know I'll probably write the next chapter during it! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the rights to POTO or Lost by The Cure.

**OK! School is over so I will be able to update much more! No more exams, or graduation stuff, or grandparents! Speaking of graduation, it was perfect until I got my first speeding ticket! My first few moments of freedom from high school and I get a ticket! MEH! Episode III is awesome! I love Gerards! **

**Katie Loves Erik: No I haven't heard their first CD, I can't find it anywhere around here! I'm going to order it eventually.**

**RoseQueen: I'm glad that you have. I also went through that in middle school, earlier this year too, and this story has kinda been therapy for me. Some of the plot hits close to home.**

**Erik'sTrueAngel: Thank you so much! I am addicted Lessons on Love and I can't wait for the next update!**

**Well, here's the next chapter, from Erik's POV…**

'Well, she did say she wasn't going to be here…'

Erik had practically combed the school that day, hoping that Christine would turn the corner. It had been confirmed, much to his dislike, that Christine was in fact on the band trip and he was left alone.

Sure, he had his fellow band members, but they had proven to be quite superficial on several occasions. For example, the only reason that any of them had joined was to have a shot at fame, fortune, and all the girls that they could possibly want. Unlike Erik, they cared nothing for the music; they only wanted to become immortalized with music they knew nothing about.

Of course, he had his father. The father that had tortured him mentally since the day he was born. The father that had named him Erik because he saw it "fitting."

'Erik, you seem to be growing sentimental about daddy dearest…' he thought as he exited the school, not caring that there was still half a day of school to go.

He put his hand to his face, checking that the mask was still there. Although his name was intended as a cruel joke, Erik rather liked being named after the legendary masked phantom. When he first discovered the origin of his name, he learned everything he could about him. Erik read all the books and after seeing the musical, he was inspired to shed the stupid medical mask his father forced him to wear and adopted the classic half mask.

Erik found his car and, unnoticed by the brain dead school administrators, slipped out of the school parking lot.

'It really is too easy…' he smirked as he turned left in the direction of the music store.

He looked into his rear view mirror and noticed a police car behind him.

'Shit…' he thought looking straight ahead, trying to compose himself so he wouldn't look like an eighteen year old.

The police car pulled up next to him and in spite of himself, Erik looked to his side at the officer.

The officer glanced at Erik and did a double take.

'Just try and pull me over you son of a bitch…' Erik thought, assuming the officer knew he was skipping.

However, the officer stared curiously at Erik and ran his hand over the side of his face where Erik's mask would have been.

'God damn it!' Erik thought angrily, 'you certainly are a rude little fuck aren't you?'

The light finally turned green and Erik floored the gas pedal, not caring about the cop near by.

He drove in a blind rage, almost missing the music store, and pulled into a space.

'Don't let it get to you…' he thought, trying to calm himself down.

Erik sighed heavily and turned off his car. He climbed out, silently cursing it as it honked when he locked it.

Erik entered the store and immediately went to look at the sheet music.

"Hey! Erik!"

Erik turned around quickly, slightly startled and smiled when he saw who it was.

"Hello Nadir," he said.

Nadir was a slightly older man, in his early twenties. He was of middle-eastern descent with his dark completion and black hair. Nadir had also been a victim of misunderstanding people, so Erik counted his as one of his few true friends.

Nadir walked forward to shake Erik's hand.

"Skipping again?" he said with a smirk.

Erik rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah…I did it too…" Nadir said, laughing, "So, looking for anything in particular?"

"Well…" Erik said, looking down at the box of music, "I was looking for music from The Phantom of the Opera."

"Don't you have that already?"

"Yes…but I wanted it for guitar…"

"Is it for Mask and Black Rose? I thought you said it would be ruined by, how did you put it? Those greedy son of bitches."

Erik looked at him and smiled a little.

"Well, that's about to change…"

Nadir smirked at him.

"Oh really? Erik, have you met a girl?"

Erik turned bright red.

"Yes…"

"And have you asked her to join the band?"

Erik turned even redder.

"Yes…"

Nadir gave a shout/laugh and hugged Erik. Erik promptly pushed him away and backed up, which make Nadir laugh even more. Erik rolled his eyes again.

"So, what's her name?" Nadir asked, still laughing.

"Christine…" Erik said, getting lost in his thoughts.

"You've got it bad," Nadir observed.

Erik looked at him slightly angry, and said, "No I don't!"

"Whatever…" Nadir said snickering slightly.

Erik, exasperated at Nadir, repeated his requested for the music, who went to the store room to look for it.

Erik headed over to the guitars and absentmindedly strummed the strings.

'Am I?' he thought to himself, 'she's all I can think about…'

He walked around the store, occasionally pausing to look at an interesting instrument until Nadir returned.

"Here it is, lover boy!" Nadir called rather loudly.

Erik glared daggers at him and grabbed the music from Nadir's hands.

"It's not that big of a deal, ok!"

Nadir laughed again and patted him on the back.

"Calm down, grasshopper."

Erik threw up his hands and walked to the cash register, handing the music back to Nadir, who rang it up.

"Ten big ones, partner," Nadir replied.

Erik pulled out his wallet, ignoring Nadir's strangeness, and paid him.

He bid Nadir farewell as he collected the receipt and bag.

"Erik," Nadir called from the register.

"What?" he asked, halfway to the door.

"Be nice now…" Nadir said, winking.

Erik flipped him off and exited the store. He unlocked his car, which honked again, and got in.

He laughed slightly as he thought of Nadir. He was the closest thing to a sibling Erik had and had helped him during several tough years, despite the exchange of curses and rude gestures they gave each other.

Erik started his car and turned up the volume of his CD player.

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_In the head of this stranger in love_

_Holding on given up_

_To another under faded setting sun_

_And I wonder where I am..._

_Could she run away with him?_

_So happy and so young_

_And I stare_

_As I sing in the lost voice of a stranger in love_

_Out of time letting go_

_In another world that spins around for fun_

_And I wonder where I am..._

_Could he ever ask her why?_

_So happy and so young..._

He listened to the lyrics of the song and realized that they fit him perfectly. Erik sighed as he slipped into one of his moods of depression.

_And I stare... But..._

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_In the heart of this stranger in love_

_Holding on given up_

_To this other under faded setting sun_

_And I'm not sure where I am... _

_Would he really turn away?_

_So happy and so young..._

_And I stare..._

_As I play out the passion of a stranger in love_

_Letting go of the time_

_In this other world that spins around for one_

_And I'm not sure where I am..._

_Would she know it was a lie?_

_So happy and so young..._

He drove the streets to his house in a trance. Just listening to the lyrics and thinking.

_And I stare... But... _

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_In the soul of this stranger in love_

_No control over one_

_To the other under faded setting sun_

_And I don't know where I am..._

_Should he beg her to forgive?_

_So happy and so young..._

He looked up in surprise as he noticed he had made it to his house. He turned off the car and CD player but the song still played in his head.

_And I stare..._

_As I live out the story of a stranger in love_

_Waking up going on_

_In the other world that spins around undone_

_And I don't know where I am..._

_Should she really say goodbye?_

_So happy and so young_

Erik unlocked the front door and noted that it was perfectly organized.

'The maid must have been here…'

Erik's father was very wealthy and because his mother had died during childbirth, he hired a maid to clean the entire house once a week. The money that his father had acquired was evident from the size of the house and Erik's car. Even though Erik was a disappointment to his father, he still gave him the best. Apparently he believed if other people thought Erik was really cared for by the state of his things, he was saved from any questions.

This meant nothing to Erik but made him resent his father even more and caused him to become a loner.

He climbed the stairs of the empty house and walked quickly to his room, locking the door.

Erik looked into his dresser mirror in the near darkness.

_And I stare... But..._

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_I can't find myself_

_I got lost in someone else._

The stopped playing in his head and there was silence. He took off the mask and stared at his reflection.

"Please Christine…save me from my solitude…"

**Well, that's that! I hope that Erik doesn't come off as being unrealistic. Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO…WHY MUST YOU TORMENT ME!

**Thank you once again for reviewing! Guess what? I got a job at Bojangles. Bojangles! I do get biscuits though. Oh! If any of you all want to email me, it is blackrose 1831 excite .com. I actually check my email now, so drop me a line! I also got a thingy on my space and the address for that is my space/ blackrose 1831. Just remove the spaces.**

**Iris Knotwise: Did you get my email? Well, if you didn't, you now know my new email address. **

**Erik'sTrueAngel: I reviewed, but I'll just say again how much I liked the new chapter. **

**RoseQueen and Kute Anime Kitty: Well, here's the next chapter, with Erik and Christine!**

'Thank God _that's _over'

Christine's bus pulled into the school parking lot around 9 p.m. Even though she didn't talk to anyone the entire trip, she was content to listen to her CD player and catch up on schoolwork.

She pulled on her Jack Skellington beanie and gathered all of her belonging, eager to jump off the bus as soon as the doors opened.

"God, Christine, that's really scary!"

Christine rolled her eyes as Ashley, one of her least favourite people in the world, insulted her hat.

'Oh, what I could do to you…' She thought evilly to herself.

The doors of the rickety bus squeaked open and Christine pushed her way out, not bothering to apologize to the hypocritical band kids. You know, the kind of people that can push and insult you, but when you give them a small taste of their own medicine, they have a hissy fit.

She grabbed her instrument and made sure that she could hold all of her stuff before heading off to her car. About to collapse under the weight of her things, Christine found her car nearby and unlocked it. After she threw her junk into the back seat, she cast a side glance at the group of buses and noticed Ashley struggling and whining for her most likely cheating boyfriend to carry her stuff. Christine laughed out loud as Ashley was clearly refused.

'Yeah…Ashley…right back at you…' She thought, flipping her off.

Christine sped slightly to school that morning, anxious to talk to Erik. He had been on her mind the whole trip and she longed to hear his calming voice and gaze into his stormy grey eyes…

"Snap out of it, Christine!" She told herself, laughing at how pathetic she was.

Christine turned up the volume of her CD player and laughed again when she realized what song it was. The Phantom of the Opera, techno version.

_In sleep he sang to me,_

_In dreams he came._

_That voice which calls to me,_

_And speaks my name._

_And do I dream again?_

_For now I find,_

_The Phantom of the Opera is there,_

_Inside my mind…_

Christine danced to the beat, well as much as she could in her car, and sang along to the lyrics. Probably not very well because it was early morning.

She pulled into her normal space, in the back, and regretfully turned off her CD player.

"Oh well," she said to herself, "I'm going to see a real phantom soon…"

Christine walked through the parking lot in much higher spirits than usual and was glad to notice that she still had plenty of time to get to class.

She entered the school to receive glares from her peers. She lived in the south and you can say that they don't take kindly to people who don't live and breathe football and don't worship cheerleaders.

Normally, Christine would have flipped them off, but instead, she adjusted her new fish net gloves, straightened her black coat, and walked with her head held high to class.

Outside the door leading down to the art department, Christine noticed with excitement Erik standing there. Her heart sped up as he noticed her and rushed to meet her.

She threw her books down and ran to his open arms. She gave him a bone crushing hug and happily looked up at him. He was already smiling down at her and gently tilted her chin so her lip would meet his.

'I hope we don't have anymore band trips...' she thought vaguely as she relished the feel of his lips on hers.

The reality that they were at school kicked in and they reluctantly drew apart.

"Did you miss me?" Christine asked cheerfully as she jumped up and down.

"Oh yes," Erik replied, "I missed your enthusiasm."

Mrs. Ritchell unlocked the door to the art department and shooed all of the kiddies to run off to class.

Christine rolled her eyes and gathered her scattered books she had thrown on the ground moments before.

Erik waited for her and offered his arm to her. She accepted with a smile and they walked together to art class.

It was lunch time and, much to Christine's pleasure, her math class had first lunch again.

She had walked to her math class as usual after English and, after discovering a note on the door gave a shout and ran to first lunch.

"Hey!" Erik said, after Christine had practically pounced on him, "Have a test again?"

"Yep!" she said, setting her stuff down. She noticed that she wasn't hungry anymore so she sat down beside Erik.

"I'm glad you're here," Erik said to her, "I have something to show you…"

He turned to his back pack and pulled out what appeared to be a book of music.

"What is it?" Christine asked curiously.

He smiled mischievously and handed her the book. Christine's jaw dropped when she read the title.

"The Phantom of the Opera!" she squealed, "For guitar!"

"I thought since you agreed to join Mask and Black Rose, that you would like it," He said laughing at her reaction.

"I love it!" she screamed, throwing her arms around him again.

Erik laughed again and kissed the top of her head. He buried his face in her hair and closed his eyes, hoping that he would remember this moment.

"Erik! Dude, what are you doing?"

Erik shot up and looked around to find out who the speaker was.

It was Andre, one of the other band members.

Andre smirked at Erik who glared at him.

"What is it, Andre?" he said, a little harshly.

"Hey, dude, I just need to talk to you about practice."

Erik rolled his eyes and beckoned him over, adjusting his mask.

Andre was your typical wannabe surfer, high school class clown/jerk. He wore board shorts and flip flops, even though it wasn't even that warm, and an American Eagle surfer shirt, advertising some bogus surf contest.

He was also in the school band, one of the stars of the drum line, which was the only reason he was in Mask and Black Rose.

Christine looked at Andre and said "hello" with a slight grimace. He was one of the more self-assured band kids, and that was a major understatement.

"Oh, hello…Jessica," he said in a lofty manner.

Christine raised her eye brows.

"Not even close, dude," she said shaking her head.

Andre shrugged and turned to Erik.

"So, dude, practice after school?"

Erik looked to Christine who nodded.

"Okay," he agreed, "and _Christine_ will be coming to."

"Why?" Andre asked, impassively.

Christine smiled sweetly to Andre.

"Because I'm joining," she said, happily.

"Like, who says?" he scoffed.

"Me," Erik said simply.

Andre began to protest, but one look at Erik's intimidating expression quickly suppressed any rebuff he might have had.

"We will talk about this at practice, dude," he said in a would-be serious voice.

"Okay, dude," Erik and Christine replied together.

Andre sharply turned on his heel, his flip flops making him trip a little, and stalked off.

They rolled their eyes simultaneously and laughed.

"Don't worry about him," Erik reassured Christine, "no one takes him seriously."

She nodded and looked at the book of music again, smiling a little.

"So, will you be able to write the music for the band?"

"Yep," Erik nodded, "Already started."

Christine laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Well, don't you deserve a muffin!"

"I'll settle for a kiss…" he said pulling her close.

Needless to say, they stayed like that until the lunch bell rang and made plans to meet each other after school so they could go to practice together.

**Phluff! I needed to put a phluffy chapter in and I think I did pretty well. Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO or Simple Plan's Shut Up!

**Working at Bojangles is a lot harder than I thought! It never fails; people always order what you don't have ready! The main reason I didn't update sooner was because of a certain reviewer. When I first read the reviews, I was a little ticked, but then I realized that they were right. So after watching POTO again, obsessively reading TwistedMind's You are not alone, and many cinnamon biscuits later, I have decided to give a lot more thought to each chapter, such as adding more details. Anyway, here is the next chapter!**

'I guess this is it.'

It was after school and Christine was following Erik's car to Andre's house for practice. Calling it a car was a major understatement though. His "car" was a brand new 2006 BMW Z3, black of course. Christine was very careful to stay a little farther away from it than necessary; she really didn't want to think about how much the damage repair costs would be, even for a fender bender.

She parked in the street in front of Andre's house, just behind Erik and got out to get a closer look. It was your typical two story brick house in your typical middle class neighborhood, with red shutters and doors, surrounded by various shrubbery and trees, obviously very tenderly cared for.

It was obvious because Andre's mother waved merrily at them while tending to a very beautiful magnolia tree.

"Hello Erik, dear!" she called, in a very motherly sounding voice.

"Hello Mrs. Kilgore," Erik replied politely.

She beckoned for them to come over, dropping her pruning shears and taking of her slightly dirty gardening gloves.

Close up, Mrs. Kilgore clearly belonged in the typical American neighborhood as a typical American housewife, dressed in her colourful gardening outfit decorated with potted daisies and little shovels. Her sun hat even matched! Christine could tell that Andre was her son from the wavy blond hair, fair complexion, and bright green they shared.

"Well Erik, who is your friend?" she said, looking at Christine and smiling kindly.

"This is Christine Day. Christine, this is Mrs. Kilgore," he said, introducing them.

She eyed Christine for a moment, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable, making her wish that she had left the fishnet gloves and her Trigun t-shirt, complete with Vash holding up a gun, in her car. This passed, however, as Mrs. Kilgore smiled again and held out her hand which Christine accepted.

"Hello, Mrs. Kilgore," Christine said, matching Erik's politeness, "it is very nice to meet you. This magnolia tree is beautiful."

Christine gestured to the full white blooms, slightly knocked senseless by their strong fragrance.

Mrs. Kilgore smiled widely at her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you my dear! She's very polite," she said to Erik.

Erik laughed at little and smirked at Christine, who gave him a look.

"Well, we'd better meet Andre for practice," Erik said, looking at the garage where Andre was peaking around the brick wall, looking at them curiously.

"Well, okay dear, come back anytime!" Mrs. Kilgore said sweetly, giving them one last wave before setting back to work on the Magnolia tree.

When they were an ear shot away from her, Erik started to laugh.

"What!" Christine yelled, slightly frustrated.

"You," he said simply.

"Whatever!" Christine retorted, rolling her eyes. She turned her head to look back at Mrs. Kilgore, content with her gardening.

'I wonder if she's really happy…' Christine wondered to herself, turning back around to behold Andre, eyes narrowed.

"Dude, you don't have to be nice to her," he said, gesturing to his mother.

"I know," Erik said moving past him to the open garage, "I like to."

'You don't know how lucky you are Andre,' he thought to himself, a scowl settling in his expression.

Christine glared a little at Andre and followed Erik into the garage. Andre's garage had been turned into what you would basically expect from a garage band set up; a drum set, which looked rather expense, an old, worn in couch, obviously from his parent's college days, a musty garage smell, and several posters, ranging from bands to famous female porn stars. Christine's eyes narrowed into slits as she noticed these and gave a frustrated sigh. She suddenly felt someone beside her and turned to find Erik looking in disgust at the previously mentioned posters.

"Don't worry," he said pulling her closer to him, "those were all Andre's doing…"

At that moment, the other band member entered the garage and after exchanging a few brief "dudes!" with Andre, walked over to Erik and Christine, who were previously engaged. They pulled away from each other, reluctantly of course, and Christine turned to meet the other band member.

She blanched a little as she recognized him, Devon Whitman, to be one of Raoul's Halo 2 playing buddies. Devon smirked mockingly at Christine as he recognized her too.

'Why didn't I notice him before!' she thought furiously to herself.

She smiled weakly as Erik introduced them, oblivious to the fact that they had met before under different circumstances.

"Well, dudes, and Christine," Andre added in an undertone, "Let's get to jammin'!"

Andre emphasized his point by furiously banging on his drum set.

'He actually remembered my name…' she said raising her eyebrows as she watched his progress.

"Oh!" Erik said in a strangely surprised voice, "I forgot my guitar at my house. I'll be back in a second. Give me a second, Andre!" he yelled as Andre glared at him, frustrated.

Erik gave Christine a quick kiss on the cheek and walked swiftly out to his car, his black coat flowing out behind him. Andre watched him exit, sighed, and continued randomly banging on his drum set.

Devon smirked at her again, making Christine feel extremely uncomfortable. He ran a hand through his short red hair.

"So, I saw Raoul the other day, yeah, with Carlotta at my LAN party, we had so much fun," he said, his brown eyes gleaming maliciously, "Raoul and Carlotta left early though, they were all over each other the whole night."

Christine broke eye contact with him and looked to the concrete floor.

"Why should I give a fuck what he does with Carlotta?" she said angrily, picturing a happy Raoul and Carlotta laughing and carrying on in her head.

"You care, everyone knows it, even Raoul," he said starting to circle her, "he keeps going on about how glad he his he broke it off with you and how happy he is, fucking Carlotta."

"Yeah, she would let him," she said a little strained.

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" he said stopping his path to touch her shoulder.

Christine jerked away from him and walked to the couch, sitting down, trying to make her body as small as possible.

Devon followed her and sat down beside her. He scooted right next to her and put his hand on her knee. Christine looked up to Andre, still obliviously playing the drums.

'Andre…' she thought frantically, wishing for once that he was there being his annoying self.

"Christine," he said leaning in to whisper in her ear, "don't act all innocent. I know what you did with Raoul. He told everyone."

Christine forgot her fear for a moment as it was replaced by a feeling of blind anger.

"No doubt all he told you was false," she said, looking him determinedly in the eye.

He chuckled a little and moved his hand to run his fingers through her hair. Christine started to shake slightly.

"No, I think he was telling the truth," he said his fingers now stroking her cheek, "and since he's done with you, it's my turn now. I normally don't take sloppy seconds, but, I'll make an exception in your case. Come on, ditch Erik and have some fun with me."

His hand moved again to her knee and was slowly creeping up her leg. Christine struggled to keep this new feeling of nausea and paralyzing fear at bay.

"Stop…" she whispered timidly.

"Oh Christine," Devon said heatedly to her, "you're such a free spirit, I know you want to. You're so…erotic."

Christine closed her eyes fearfully as Devon forced her to face him. His hand had reached where he wasn't wanted and Christine let out a shaky cry.

"Erik!"

Christine's eyes popped open as she heard Andre greet Erik. She pushed away from Devon and flew off the couch to meet him, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his chest.

"Hey! Christine!" Erik said a little shocked at her actions, "I didn't know you'd miss me that much!"

Christine continued to hug him, holding on for dear life until Erik separated from her a bit. He lifted her chin up so he could look at her. He was puzzled to see her fearful expression and tears starting to form at her eyes.

"What's up?" he said gently, looking into her blue eyes with his grey ones with a worried expression.

Christine glanced over Erik's shoulder to see Devon looking very threateningly at her.

"Nothing!" she said, smiling widely at him, "nothing at all!"

"Chicks!" Andre said shaking his head.

Erik glared at him and looked back to Christine. Her smile had faded and she looked fearful again. He looked at her skeptically.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home?"

Christine moved her hand to stroke his unmasked cheek. She felt so much better with him around.

"Yes," she said assuredly, "Actually, I know what song I want to sing."

"What?" Erik asked.

Christine smiled and whispered a song title to him. He nodded and got his guitar out of its case. While Erik was busy with his guitar, Christine glared at Devon and turned to walk confidently to the microphone.

Erik and the other band members started to play.

'This goes out to you, bitch…' she thought smirking evilly ahead.

_There you go_

_You're always so right_

_It's all a big show_

_It's all about you_

_You think you know_

_What everyone needs_

_You always take time to criticize me_

_It seems like everyday_

_I make mistakes_

_I just can't get it right_

_It's like I'm the one _

_You love to hate_

_But not today..._

_So shut up, shut up, shut up_

_Don't want to hear IT_

_Get out, get out, get out_

_Get out of my WAY_

_Step UP, step UP, step UP_

_You'll never stop me _

_Nothing you say today_

_Is gonna bring me down_

Christine forgot everything around her, but the music. All of her fears and troubles melted away with each passing verse.

_There you go_

_You never ask why_

_It's all a big lie_

_Whatever you do_

_You think you're special_

_But I know & I know & I know & we know_

_That you're not_

_You're always there to point out my mistakes_

_And shove them in my face_

_It's like I'm the one you love to hate_

_But not today_

_So shut up, shut up, shut up_

_Don't want to hear IT_

_Get out, get out, get out_

_Get out of my WAY_

_Step UP, step UP, step UP_

_You'll never stop me _

_Nothing you say today_

_Is gonna bring me down_

_(Shut up, shut up, shut up)_

_Is gonna bring me down_

_(Shut up, shut up, shut up)_

_You'll never bring me down_

She turned to glance at Erik. He snapped out of the trance he was usually in when he played music to smile at her. She smiled broadly at him.

_Don't tell me who I should be_

_(Don't tell me who I should be)_

_And don't try to tell me what's right for me_

_And don't tell me what I should do_

_I don't want to waste my time_

_I'll watch you fade away_

_So shut up, shut up, shut up_

_Don't wanna hear IT_

_Get out, get out, get out_

_Get out of my WAY_

_Step UP, step UP, step UP_

_You'll never stop me _

_Nothing you say today_

_Is gonna bring me down_

Christine completely lost herself in the music and began dancing to the beat. Her energy was contagious as the rest of the band gave it their all.

_Shut up, shut up, shut up_

_Don't wanna hear IT_

_Get out, get out, get out_

_Get out of my WAY_

_Step UP, step UP, step UP_

_You'll never stop me_

_Nothing you say TODAY_

_Is gonna bring me down_

_Shut up, shut up, shut up_

_Don't wanna hear IT_

_Get out, get out, get out_

_Get out of my WAY_

_Step up, step up, step up,_

_You'll never stop me_

_Nothing you say TODAY_

_Is gonna bring me down_

'This is happiness,' she thought euphorically.

_Bring me down_

_(Shut up, shut up, shut up)_

_Won't bring me down_

_Bring me down_

_(Shut up, shut up, shut up)_

_Won't bring me down_

_Shut up, shut up, shut up_

The song ended to Andre's loud cheering.

"Awesome dudes!" he said happily.

Erik and Christine glared at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Okay! Christine," he said seriously, "I officially name you the leading Dudette of Mask and Black Rose!"

The phone started ringing in the house after Andre's proclamation, which Mrs. Kilgore answered.

"Andre! Sweetheart!" she called lovingly from the kitchen.

"What!" Andre said, whining like the little kid that his mother treated him like.

He stomped off to see what his mother wanted as Erik laughed and rolled his eyes at Christine.

"It's not like he has any say in anything," he said chuckling.

"What?" Christine said playfully to Erik, "you don't want me to be the leading Dudette?"

Erik pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

"You were wonderful," he whispered to her.

Christine smiled happily and, completely forgetting about Devon, who had sulked into a corner, and stood on tip toe to kiss Erik.

"Dude, Dudette! Will you stop it for a minute?" Andre yelled incredulously.

They laughed as they pulled apart to look at Andre. He rolled his eyes and huffed.

"Well, I have good news!" Andre said jumping up and down like Christine, "We got a gig!"

"Good," Erik said nodding in approval, "where?"

"At Rafter's," Andre said, looking a little disappointed that Erik wasn't as excited as he was.

Christine, however, was thrilled.

"When?" she asked excitedly.

"Saturday," Andre replied, happy that at least someone was looking forward to it.

Christine looked nervously at Erik.

"Do you think I'll be ready?" she asked, wringing her hands.

"Oh yeah," Erik said smiling down at her, "With a performance like that, we'll get a record deal in no time."

Christine smiled happily at him.

"But," Erik continued, "We should practice more."

"Sure!" Christine replied, all too eager to feel that music high again.

And with the excitement of the coming performance, Mask and Black Rose rehearsed furiously into the night until they were chased out of the garage by the typical American neighbors, who wanted their typical American sleep.

**How was that? I spent about three hours just now, typing it, so I hope it is better than the other chapters. I think it is more descriptive…maybe? Well, last time I checked, we were up to 49 reviews, so please review so I can go to work with the thought of 50 reviews to keep me going! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO, Comedy Central, or one of my favorite songs by System of a Down, Chop Suey!

**I felt inspired to update again, sooner than normal. The last chapter was supposed to be put up two days ago, but for some reason no one could update or even review! I hope it doesn't happen again! I have to say that I laughed at some of the reviews I got. Erik doesn't know about Devon, yet, and he will get his comeuppance. But for now, here is the next chapter. **

Christine looked into the full length mirror in her bedroom at her reflection, which was wearing a black tank top, with sequins around the collar, a short black, red, and white plaid skirt, and her favorite black fishnet gloves with the fingers cut.

It was Saturday, and Christine was preparing for her first gig with Mask and Black Rose. Normally, she wouldn't obsess as much about her clothes, but tonight she wanted to look the part.

The TV was on in the background, turned to Comedy Central, as she carefully applied black eye shadow and eyeliner, inspired by Gerard Way in the Helena music video. After her makeup, she sat down on her queen sized and attempted to straighten her short black hair, with red highlights put in for the occasion, all the while her nerves starting to get the best of her.

She got up to check the state of her hair in the mirror. She sighed at the little curly hairs around her forehead and tried to force them to stay flat.

'Well, that's as good as it's going to get…' she thought, giving up and flopping back on her bed.

She looked around her room and couldn't help but admire the medieval themed bedspread and tapestry she had received for her birthday last year. As much as she loved the technology of today, she couldn't help but wonder if she had been born in the wrong century. The beautiful and graceful way of living of centuries past had always been a daydream of hers.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the ringing doorbell, which her mother answered.

"Christine! Door for you!"

Christine snapped out of her daydream at her mothers call. Erik was picking her up for the concert and she rushed to finish getting ready, not wanting him to have to wait on her. She threw the various pieces of paper sitting on her jewelry box to the floor and grabbed her necklace with a black rose charm. Because she couldn't exactly carry her black rose around with her, she opted to continue her signature trademark in this way.

Her mother yelled for her again as she turned off the TV and unplugged her flat iron. She picked up her slightly intimidating lace up black boots and headed out the door, flipping the light switch off t plunge the room in darkness. Christine rushed down the hall and down the stairs to hear her mother chatting amiably with Erik in the kitchen.

Ms. Day, a divorcee, lived alone with her daughter. She had short brown hair, dyed though because of her age, and brown eyes, while Christine had blond hair, originally, and blue eyes, which she shared with her father. She wore a navy Ralph Lauren sweater with gold button on the shoulders and red pants that Christine thought were too short, also Ralph Lauren. She had a Master's degree in Counseling, which was her profession, and on several occasions used her knowledge to try and analyze Christine's behavior, telling her that her rebellious actions and failure to clean her room were a direct attack against her. Christine believed that she really needed to get a life.

Christine entered the kitchen and sat down at her normal seat to put on her shoes and smiled at Erik, who looked slightly annoyed by Ms. Day's openly curious way of staring at his mask.

"Oh Christine!" Ms. Day exclaimed, noticing she was there, "You look so cute! Let me take a picture!"

"No!" Christine insisted loudly, wondering why on earth her mother insisted on taking her picture even for the most mundane of events.

Before her mother could argue, Christine grabbed her purse and headed towards the door, Erik following not far behind.

"Will you have your cell phone on?" Christine's mother called after her.

"Probably not!" Christine yelled from the door, "It's not like I'll be able to hear it if it rings! Bye! Be back later!"

Christine shut the front door and turned to Erik.

"I'm so sorry if she was annoying!" she sighed, locking the door.

"It's okay," he assured her, "she was nice…"

Christine gave a short laugh and walked with Erik to his car, really looking at him for the first time tonight. Instead of his normal all black with a long coat, he was wearing a deep blood red shirt, black pants with red detailing, and a black half mask.

'I like what I see…' Christine thought to herself as Erik opened her car door with a flourishing bow.

"Show off…" Christine said, sticking her tongue out at him and getting in the car. Erik returned the gesture as she sat down and closed the door. Erik swept across the front of the car. He opened the door, sat down, closed the door, etc, etc, and started the car.

They jumped slightly at Erik's speakers which were turned up full volume and blasting System of a Down's Chop Suey!

"Sorry…" Erik said sheepishly as turned the volume down and made to turn his stereo off. Christine stopped him, however, and turned it up so it was loud, but not as loud as it was.

"I love this song!" Christine exclaimed and started the song again.

Erik smiled at her as put his car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway, the guitar opening of Chop Suey! playing in the background. Christine returned the smile slyly and leaned in to kiss him on the lips. As he began to kiss her back, she pulled away and moved out of reach and winked at him with mischievous smile playing on her lips.

He raised his eyebrows at her, one hidden by the mask though, and put the car in drive and drove down the street. Christine smiled at him again and listened to the lyrics.

_Wake up_

_Grab a brush and put a little (makeup)_

_Grab a brush and put a little_

_Hide the scars to fade away the (shakeup)_

_Hide the scars to fade away the_

_Why'd you leave the keys upon the table? _

_Here you go create another fable_

_You wanted to_

_Grab a brush and put a little makeup_

_You wanted to_

_Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup_

_You wanted to_

_Why'd you leave the keys upon the table? _

_You wanted to_

_I don't think you trust_

_In, my, self righteous suicide_

_I, cry, when angels deserve to die, die_

By this time, Erik had made it out of her neighborhood and made a right turn on to the street outside that would take them to Rafter's. Christine leaned back in her seat and looked out of the window at the rapidly falling darkness. The sky was made up of several colors ranging from a fiery orange to a deep purple, scattered with a few twinkling stars. She touched the window lightly and traced an invisible design on the glass. When she removed her fingers, she noticed that the tips were bleeding.

'That's funny…' she thought, wondering what had made them bleed.

Christine glanced at Erik, who was focused on driving. She grinned devilishly as she decided to be a little naughty.

_Wake up_

_Grab a brush and put a little (makeup)_

_Grab a brush and put a little_

_Hide the scars to fade away the (shakeup)_

_Hide the scars to fade away the_

_Why'd you leave the keys upon the table? _

_Here you go create another fable_

_You wanted to_

_Grab a brush and put a little makeup_

_You wanted to_

_Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup_

_You wanted to_

_Why'd you leave the keys upon the table? _

_You wanted to_

She leaned forward again, this time to kiss his neck, and smiled at his gasp of surprise. She began to kiss his neck more roughly and could feel him speeding up. She laughed out loud at this and moved up to nibble slightly at his ear.

_I don't think you trust_

_In, my, self righteous suicide_

_I, cry, when angels deserve to die_

_In, my, self righteous suicide_

_I, cry, when angels deserve to die_

The sky had turned a dark midnight blue when she pulled away and looked at him. He watched her from the corner of his eye with an unreadable expression. She smiled at him again which he returned and looked back at the road the mask facing her.

_Father, father, father, father_

_Father into your hands, I commend my spirit_

_Father into your hands_

_Why have you forsaken me?_

_In your eyes forsaken me_

_In your thoughts forsaken me_

_In your heart forsaken, me oh_

Feeling very confident, she leaned forward again and touched the mask, forgetting her bleeding fingers. He seemed not to notice as she stroked the smooth silk and wondered why it was there. A horrible feeling of curiosity over took her. Her fingers inched their way to the edge of the mask and she very boldly made to remove it. She was stopped, however, by Erik's hand firmly gripping her wrist. He forced her hand away from the mask, his grip still tight on her wrist.

"Don't," he said sternly, with a fierce glint in his grey eyes.

_Trust in my self righteous suicide_

_I, cry, when angels deserve to die_

_In my self righteous suicide_

_I, cry, when angels deserve to die_

Erik finally released his hold on her wrist and parked the car. Christine held her slightly sore wrist with her other hand and noticed with a shock that they were at Rafter's, the neon sign shining light into the car. She looked at Erik, with an apologetic look on her face. He was still seated with his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, putting a hand to his shoulder.

Erik looked up at her. He took her wrist and kissed it.

"No," he said sighing, massaging her wrist, "I'm sorry…just…there is a reason I wear a mask, not just because of some obsession. I promise I'll tell you someday, just not yet."

She stroked his mask again, the neon light making it look almost white. She gasped a little as she noticed her blood on the mask.

'Why does this seem so familiar?' she thought, a little horrified that something this morbid would cause her deja veu.

She shook off the feeling as they exited the car. Erik retrieved his guitar from the trunk, and they made their way to the building.

**Sorryif thischapter is shorter, I was going to make it part of the concert chapter, which is next, but as I was writing it, I realized that it needed to be its own. Well, you know the drill! Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**

**P.S. The title of the song in the last chapter is Shut Up! by Simple Plan.**


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO, Hang 'em High by MCR, or I Caught Fire by The Used, but I do own Dark Angel! My song! Mine! So please, don't take it from me!

**61 REVIEWS! Makes me happy! Thank you all so much for reviewing, but we still have along way to go yet! I don't really have any random thing to say today, so here's the chapter, and this one, and the next one, will be long!**

They entered Rafter's, Erik leaving her at the entrance, and Christine looked around. She had been there once before for the first concert, but it seemed so much different since she was performing tonight. It was a rather small place, with a little room off to the side with tables and sofas filled with teenagers chatting away, anticipating the concert. Another band was performing after they were, so unfortunately, it wasn't all for them. She spotted Meg, wearing a dark pair of jeans, black converses, and a My Chemical Romance shirt, at one of the tables, playing cards with some people Christine didn't know. Meg looked up and noticed Christine.

"Christine! You look awesome!" Meg squealed excitedly, "I'm so excited for the concert! Mask and Black Rose is going to rock tonight!"

She emphasized her point by doing the "rock on!" sign very enthusiastically and jumping up and down, earning stares from the more self conscience people in attendance. Meg paid no attention, but looked curiously at Christine.

"Are you ok?" she questioned, tilting her head making her long brown hair with blue highlights swoosh to the side.

Christine gave a sigh and pulled Meg to a table in a corner away from the happy teenagers. She stared at the table, boring a hole in it with her eyes.

"I tried to take off Erik's mask," she said softly, looking up at Meg.

The brunette's eyes widened.

"What happened?" she said, obviously very curious.

Christine put her head in her glove clad hand.

"He stopped me before I could…" she sighed and fiddled with the hem of her plaid skirt.

"Do you think he's mad?" Meg asked, trying to look into Christine's eyes.

"No, I think he's more…disappointed…" Christine sighed again, looking sadly at Meg, "What should I do?"

Meg gave her a confident smile and stood her up.

"You are going to march in there and make him see that you're not some dumb used-to-be blond!"

Christine cupped her chin in a thoughtful way, thinking how she would make it up to him. Suddenly a thought struck her.

"I've got it!" she said throwing up her hands in victory, "It's perfect!"

Christine then let her everlasting energy for random dancing out and began doing a jig. Meg joined in, even though she had no idea what Christine was up to. This continued for a while. They finally unlocked their arms and stopped spinning around, and Meg voiced her question.

"So, what are we getting so excited for?"

Christine grinned mischievously.

"You'll see!" She bounded off in search of Erik and left Meg to argue over a card game again.

Christine skipped into the main room, which was very dark, and scanned the crowd, already situating themselves in front of the stage. She caught sight of his mask and ran over to him.

Erik looked up in time to see a fleeting image of Christine before she practically pounced on him.

"Umm…Christine?" he said a little strained, "I can't breathe…"

She let go of him, blushing a little, and looked up at him. The sounds of around them seemed to disappear as she wordlessly reached her hand up to his mask again. It pained her to see him flinch when she ran her hand down the silk, but she smiled understandingly and stood on tip toe to whisper in his ear.

"Erik," she said just loud enough for him to hear, "when you want to show me what is underneath the mask, I will be there for you. Until then, I'll mind my own business and respect yours."

She pulled back to look at what expression would be on the unmasked side of his face. It was one of gratitude.

"Thank you," he whispered softly, leaning in to kiss her.

The kiss was cut short by the announcement that they were to go on. She smiled excitedly at him and jumped onto the small, carpeted stage, where Andre and Devon were setting up the instruments. The only light in the room was coming from the stage so she had a better idea of how many people where in the crowd.

'A lot more people than I imagined…' she thought, squinting from the bright lights.

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!"

She looked towards the direction of where the yell had come from and saw Meg pushing her way to the front, making many of the members of the audience slightly disgruntled.

'Meg…it's not that big of a deal…' she thought shaking her head as Meg waved her arms excitedly.

She turned around to see if they were ready to start when she noticed Devon. He was very obviously looking her up and down, pausing at her chest. When he made it up to her face, she gave him a sweet smile and made several rude gestures in his direction.

She smiled smugly as he rolled his eyes and finished tuning his Bass guitar.

"Bastard…"

She remembered the second part of her plan and walked to the back of the stage, careful not to trip on any cords, and made her way to Andre. He was calmly setting up his drum set, complete with a homemade computer logo cover of Mask and Black Rose. He looked up when she was standing in front of him.

"What can I do for you, oh leading Dudette?" he asked graciously.

Christine rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Well, I know we had a certain line up, but I was wondering if we could play something else…"

She pulled a piece of music from her pocket and handed it to him. He looked at the title curiously.

"Did you write this?" he asked, reading it over.

"Yep!" she said, proudly, "Erik's been helping me with the music. I wrote the lyrics though."

Andre looked thoughtfully at the ground.

"Well, I'm sure I could get it, and since Erik wrote the music, he'll be able to play it. Devon doesn't…but screw him, there doesn't seem to be much to his part anyway."

Christine clapped her hands together and smiled.

"So, we can?" she asked excitedly.

Andre stood up and gave a bow that could rival Erik's.

"Anything my Dudette desires!"

She hugged him and rushed over to Erik. She handed him a copy from her pocket and smiled at him. His eyes widened upon reading the title.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, making sure that she was confident about performing her work.

"Yes," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

She walked back to the microphone and nervously cleared her throat. Public speaking was not her strong point.

"Hello…" she said waiting for the buzzing crowd to shut up, "I'm Christine Day, the new lead for Mask and Black Rose, and thank you for coming to see us!"

The crowd cheered as they waited for the band to begin.

"So, our first number is called Dark Angel and was written by me and," she said with a glance at Erik, "I would like to dedicate it to someone very special, so please don't throw things at me if it sucks!"

She laughed nervously as Erik started to play the opening and breathed deeply in and out as she waited for her cue. She suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to give Devon his copy of the music and frantically wadded it up and threw it at him and laughed as it hit him smack in the forehead. Christine ignored his curse at her and began to sing.

_The light is coming over me,_

_It makes it so hard to breathe._

_Oh won't you take me away from this shit,_

_Down to the darkness and into the pit._

_Dark angel, oh dark angel,_

_Please come and set me free._

_Dark angel, my dark angel,_

_I feel you close to me._

She closed her eyes and listened to the music she knew so well. Her nervousness disappeared as she forgot about the crowd. She was only with Erik, and he was her dark angel.

_True Hell comes in a white Subaru,_

_Driven by the one I thought I loved._

_Weakness and deceit are all he knows,_

_I hope he dies alone._

_I walk down the street, people rushing past,_

_I walk the other way._

_All I see is light, it's smothering me,_

_I curse the creatures of day._

_Dark angel, oh dark angel,_

_Please come and set me free._

_Dark angel, my dark angel,_

_I need you next to me…_

Her voice crescendo into a stream of scales, echoing Erik's melodic guitar solo. She began to lose track of reality and opened her eyes to look at Erik. His face seemed to represent her feelings as he too appeared lost in the music. They locked eyes and looked passionately at each other. She smiled and mouthed, it's all for you, just before she finished the song, eyes still locked with Erik's, singing the words that came straight from her soul.

_Dark angel, my dark angel,_

_I hear you in my dreams._

_Dark angel, dear dark angel,_

_Rip the light out by the seams._

_Dark angel, my dark angel,_

_Make my song take flight._

_Dark angel, love dark angel,_

_I surrender to the night._

The song ended to tumultuous applause, but neither Erik nor Christine heard any of it, still gazing at each other. Christine was brought back to reality, however, by Meg's loud screaming of her name. She smiled at Erik and turned around to face the crowd.

"Okay, so our next song is Hang 'em High by My Chemical Romance!" she turned around to Erik again who nodded and started to play.

Christine closed her eyes and smiled as she listened to Erik playing the western sounding intro. She didn't know why, but this was one of her favorite MCR songs. She opened her eyes and began scream/singing into the microphone.

_Wait until it fades to black_

_Ride into the sunset_

_Would I lie to you?_

_Well, I've got something to say_

_Grab your six-gun from your back_

_Throttle the ignition_

_Would I die for you?_

_Well here's your answer in spades_

_Shotgun sinners_

_Wild eyed jokers_

_Got you in my sights_

_Gun it while I'm holding on_

_After all is said and done_

_Climb out from the pine box_

_Well I'm asking you_

_'Cause she's got nothing to say_

_The angels just cut out her tongue_

_Call her black Mariah_

_Would I lie to you?_

_That girl's not right in the brain_

_Mass convulsions_

_Strike the choir_

_By the grace of God_

_Gun it while I'm holding on_

_But don't stop if I fall_

_And don't look back_

_Oh baby don't stop _

_Bury me and fade to black_

The crowd was getting very into the song, (they even started a small mosh pit!), and Christine reveled in the knowledge that Mask and Black Rose was responsible for it. She joined in their energy and began to dance along with the music and lyrics.

_She won't stop me put it down_

_She won't stop me put it down_

_She won't stop me put it down_

_So get your gun and meet me by the door _

_x3_

_She won't stop me put it down_

_She won't stop me put it down_

_She won't stop me put it down_

_So baby..._

_Don't stop if I fall_

_And don't look back_

_Oh baby don't stop_

_Bury me and fade to black _

_x2_

Christine completely lost her normal quiet exterior and at the end of the song and jumped into the crowd. It surprised those standing in the front row, but they thankfully caught her. The crowd screamed in delight at her actions and after a few moments of crowd surfing, they put her back on stage. Christine was flustered and grinning from ear to ear. She looked at Erik happily, who was laugh his head off.

"I think you like this a little too much!" he yelled over the din of noise.

She stuck her tongue out at him and blew him a kiss.

"Okay, this is our last song before the next band performs," she laughed as the audience groaned at her announcement, "and it is I Caught Fire by The Used."

She smiled again to Erik and he started the song.

_Seemed to stop my breath _

_My head on your chest_

_Waiting to cave in from _

_The bottom of my..._

_Hear your voice again could we dim the sun_

_And wonder where we've been maybe you_

_And me _

_So kiss me like you did my heart stopped_

_Beating such a softer sin_

_(I'm melting, I'm melting)_

_In your eyes I lost my place_

_Could stay a while and I'm melting_

_In your eyes like my first time_

_That I caught fire just stay with me_

_Lay with me now_

She kept her gaze on Erik as she realized how true the lyrics were to how she felt about him. Christine laughed and shook her head when she thought about what a sap she was becoming.

_Never caught my breath _

_Every second I'm without you_

_I'm a mess ever know each other _

_Trust these words are stones _

_Why cuts aren't healing_

_Learning how to love, I'm melting_

_In your eyes I lost my place_

_Could stay a while and I'm melting_

_In your eyes like my first time_

_That I caught fire just stay with me_

_Lay with me stay with me lay with me now_

Christine looked to the front row and caught eyes with Meg. Meg gave thumbs up and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Andre. Christine turned slightly shocked to look at Andre, who returned the gesture.

'WTF! Andre and Meg!' she thought, laughing out loud.

_You can stay and watch me fall_

_And of course I'll ask for help_

_Just stay with me now_

_We could take our HEADS off _

_Stay in bed just make love that's all_

_Just stay with me now_

Christine shook her head and watched the crowd. They looked like they were having so much fun, just dancing and enjoying the moment.

_I'm melting, I'm melting_

_In your eyes I lost my place_

_Could stay a while and I'm melting_

_In your eyes like my first time_

_That I caught fire just stay with me_

_Lay with me_

_In your eyes I lost my place_

_Could stay a while and I'm melting_

_In your eyes like my first time_

_That I caught fire just stay with me_

_Lay with me stay with me lay with me now_

She looked to Erik again and smiled at him as she sang the last lines.

_In your eyes lets sleep till the sun burns out_

_I'm melting in your eyes _

_In your eyes lets sleep till the sun burns out_

_I'm melting in your eyes _

Christine smiled at the crowd as they gave their rather loud approval. She felt slightly sad that it was over, but knew that it was only the first of many performances.

"Thank you so much for coming!" she said confidently into the microphone, "Love and Peace!"

She gave a short bow and gave the love and peace sign. Just as she was making her way off the stage, Andre rushed to the microphone and made an announcement.

"Hey Dudes! Party at my house!" The crowd screamed in delight and caught him as he mimicked Christine and dove into the front row.

Christine laughed as she watched his progress, wondering if she looked that silly. Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist.

She jumped in surprise and little and was happy to see that it was Erik, smiling down at her.

"You sang beautifully," he whispered to her.

Christine turned around to face him and kiss him full on the lips and pulled away with a smile on her face.

"Thank you, I guess I did, well, as beautifully as one could for rock music," she laughed and Erik shrugged and nodded in agreement.

Andre had crowd-surfed all the way to the entrance when they finally put him down. He sprang to his feet exuberantly and yelled his announcement again before rushing out the door, most of the crowd following.

"What about his drum set?" Christine asked Erik as they watched the scene unfold.

"He's letting the other band use it," he answered, "although by the looks of it, not many people are going to stick around for their show."

His assumption was correct as the room practically emptied, except for Devon who was still on stage. The other band was starting to glare at Erik and Christine.

"I think we should go before they throw a hissy fit…" Christine said quietly to Erik as she noticed the other band's lead singer starting to yell at his fellow band members.

"I agree," Erik stated simply, collecting his guitar and putting it in its case.

They jumped off stage and walked past the other band, who continued to glare at them.

"Sorry," Erik said shrugging, "ain't no party like a Andre Kilgore party."

The lead singer looked ready to throw pointy objects at them so they speed up their pace, laughing loudly. They slowed down once they reached the parking lot at which Erik grabbed Christine's hand. She smiled happily to herself when they were interrupted.

It was Devon, guitar case in hand, running after them. Christine cursed to herself as they stopped and let him catch up to them.

"Hey Erik!" he called, panting slightly and setting his guitar case on the ground, "Andre told me to ask you if you would go and get your stereo for the party."

Erik raised his eyebrows at him.

"Why?" he asked shortly, "Andre _has _a stereo. A rather nice one at that."

Devon gave an exaggerated shrug.

"It's Andre," he said casually, "Probably broke it. So anyway, since you have to go all the way home, I'll go ahead and take Christine to the party."

Christine's eyes widened and her eyebrows rose drastically.

"No," she stated firmly to Erik, who looked at her a little confused at her refusal. He shrugged it off though and looked back to Devon, who was glaring at Christine.

"When did he tell you this?" Erik asked, a little suspiciously, noticing Devon's attitude towards Christine.

Devon looked back and forth between them. He realized that Erik wouldn't make Christine do something she didn't want to. He would have to wait.

"Whatever," he said, picking up his guitar case and stalking off to his car.

"Okay…" Erik said confused, looking after him, "That was weird."

Christine clenched her fists and said nothing.

"Well, let's just go to the party," He said, taking her hand again, "Like I said, ain't no party like an Andre Kilgore party."

**There! A long chapter! The next one will probably be as long because of the par-tay! Well, I hope you liked it! Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo! **


	17. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO, the Daily Show, Reptilia by The Strokes, I Miss You by Blink 182, or The Small Print by Muse.

**I don't like the new accounts at don't know why…I just don't like them. Anyway, I know you all must be sick of hearing about Bojangles, but AHH! Some of the people out there are scaringly stupid! I had the register all day today and I was seriously about to go on a Punjab frenzy! Anyway, here's the next chapter, the begin of which I wrote at work until I was caught…**

The ride to Andre's party was mostly consumed by talk of how well the concert went. However, during the silent pauses, Christine couldn't help but shake the feeling of anger towards Devon. She ignored this though, not wanting to get Erik worked up.

'How do you know he'll even care?' the bitchy voice in the back of her head asked.

By the time they reached the party, about 15 minutes later, it was already chaos. Erik parked a little ways away, not wanting any misfortune to befall his car. One can never be too careful when intoxicated teenagers are involved.

They made the long journey to Andre's house tripping slightly over strewn toilet paper and drink bottles scattered over Mrs. Kilgore's perfectly manicured lawn.

'She either isn't there or she doesn't care,' Christine decided as she noticed the heap of toilet paper that used to be the beautiful Magnolia tree. Probably the later.

They entered Andre's house to loud cheers and applause, temporarily blocking the extremely loud rock music that could be heard from quite a distance away. Christine waved awkwardly, a little embarrassed at the attention, while Erik simple nodded, expression unchanged.

It was obvious that Andre's house, without the mess, was normally kept as perfect as the yard outside. What Christine had seen of the house so far looked like it had been taken straight from a magazine, complete with tasteful floral wallpaper and heavily polished dark wood furniture. The light green and cream striped sofas were packed with festive teenagers sipping what looked like wine and munching on chips as they watched the 11 o'clock showing of the Daily Show.

"Hey, you made it!" Christine turned to see Meg, arms locked with a slightly drunk Andre, who was holding a half full (see? I'm an optimist!) bottle of rather expensive looking wine. She was glad to see that unlike Andre, she was holding a Coke can since she had to drive home. Yeah, Christine listens to her mommy about that…

"Yo homies!" Andre said loudly, wobbling over to a couch, "help yourselves to daddy dearest's fine wine collection!"

Erik and Christine stared at him as he attempted to drink the rest of the bottle, stoppingin the process to laugh along with the rest of the room at something that was said on the Daily Show, even though he wasn't even paying attention to it, causing him to wobble some more,and spill the remianing content of the bottle on the carpet.

"Andre," Erik started, staring at Andre as he flopped down to the carpet with a heavy thud, "how much have you drunk?"

Andre looked at him with an unfocused gaze.

"Only a third…" Andre slurred, holding up the bottle again, "Spilled the rest…"

He then began to move his arms up and down on the carpet, claiming to make snow angels.

Christine couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, now that we know about Andre's low tolerance level…" Christine looked to Meg, who was laughing and shaking her head, "Are you going to stay with him?"

"Yes, I suppose…given the fact that he's my boyfriend now," Meg said laughing at the expression on Christine face, which was one of complete shock.

"Him!" she yelled, pointing at Andre who had begun to roll around on the floor, displaying the wine drenched back of his shirt, "Him!"

Meg laughed even harder and sat down on the couch that Andre had tumbled off of.

"Nothing serious!" she said watching Andre, "just a little fun…"

Christine rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Whatever. Just don't go into the garage!"

Erik and Christine then decided to go and check out the rest of the party, leaving Meg to laugh at Andre's drunken antics. They walked hand in hand down the nicely decorated hallway to a large den in the back of the house where Andre's stereo was blasting full volume playing what appeared to be a mix CD. A sort of makeshift dance floor had been made, where a lot of teenagers that Christine recognized were "getting their groove on."

"Andre's stereo is working fine," Erik yelled over the loud music, "I wonder why Devon said that it was broken."

Christine shook her head and said nothing, not wanting to ruin her good mood.

"Whatever, let's just dance!" she said taking both his hand and leading him to the dance floor, Reptilia starting to play.

_He seemed impressed by the way you came in._

_"Tell us a story_

_I know you're not boring"_

_I was afraid that you would not insist._

_"You sound so sleepy_

_Just take this, now leave me"_

_I said please don't slow me down_

_If I'm going too fast_

_You're in a strange part of our town..._

_Yeah, the night's not over_

_You're not trying hard enough,_

_Our lives are changing lanes_

_You ran me off the road,_

_The wait is over_

_I'm now taking over,_

_You're no longer laughing_

_I'm not drowning fast enough._

Christine loved the rhythm of this song and began to dance a little more wildly than she normally would have. Erik smirked at her wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively. She took this as a good sign and moved closer to him.

_Now every time that I look at myself_

_"I thought I told you_

_This world is not for you"_

_The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair_

_"You sound so angry_

_Just calm down, you found me"_

_I said please don't slow me down_

_If I'm going too fast_

_You're in a strange part of our town..._

_Yeah, the night's not over_

_You're not trying hard enough,_

_Our lives are changing lanes_

_You ran me off the road,_

_The wait is over_

_I'm now taking over,_

_You're no longer laughing_

_I'm not drowning fast enough._

She laughed nervously at the end of the song, a little shocked at how physical she was getting with Erik on the dance floor.

'Oh why not!' she thought to herself, "it's like Meg said, just have fun!"

A slow song replaced the normal fast pace of songs played at parties. Clearly the person who made this CD had a special someone.

It was I Miss You by Blink 182. Normally, this song would bring back memories of "happy" times with Raoul, but with her arms around Erik's shoulders and his arms around her waist, she smiled as she listened to the lyrics.

_(I miss you miss you)_

_Hello there the angel from my nightmare_

_The shadow in background of the morgue_

_The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley_

_We can live like Jack and Sally if we want_

_Where you can always find me_

_And we'll have Halloween on Christmas_

_And in the night we'll wish this never ends _

_We'll wish this never ends._

She moved closer to Erik and buried her face in his chest. She was glad that she was sharing this with him, not Raoul. She closed her eyes and like the song, wished this never ends.

_Where are you and I'm so sorry_

_I cannot sleep I cannot dream tonight_

_I need somebody and always_

_This sick strange darkness comes creeping on so haunting every time_

_And as I stared I counted the webs from all the spiders_

_Catching things and eating their insides_

_Like indecision to call you_

_And hear your voice of treason_

_Will you come home and stop this pain tonight_

_Stop this pain tonight._

_Don't waste your time on me your already the voice inside my head (6x)_

_I miss you miss you (6x)_

The moment ended too soon as the spell of quiet couples dancing together lovingly was broken. Christine was disappointed to say the least, but squealed when she recognized the next song, The Small Print by Muse. She pulled Erik close and sang the lyrics seductively in his ear as they moved to the pulsing music.

_Take, take all you need_

_And I'll compensate your greed_

_With broken hearts _

_Sell I'll sell your memories_

_For 15 pounds per year_

_But just the good days_

_Say, it'll make you insane_

_And it's bending the truth_

_You're to blame_

_For all the life that you'll lose and you watch this space_

_But I'm going all the way_

_And be your slave to the grave_

_I'm the priest God never paid_

Their arms wrapped around each other until Erik pulled away and spun her around. Her skirt was rather short and she grinned mischievously at him as she noticed his eyes drifting down.

"You can look," she whispered tauntingly to him when he pulled her back, "but why should I let you touch?"

_Hope, I hope you've seen the light_

_Coz no one really cares_

_They're just pretending_

_Sell, I'll sell your memories for 15 pounds per year_

_But you can keep the bad days_

_Say, it'll make you insane_

_And I'm bending the truth_

_You're to blame_

_For all the life that you'll lose_

_And you watch this space_

_And I'm going all the way_

_And be your slave to the grave_

_I'm the priest God never paid_

Raw emotions seemed to take control of Erik as he pushed her down to a low dip. She leaned all the way back, trusting him to hold her, and closed her eyes. He kept her in that position for longer than needed and leaned in to whisper to her.

"Does your dark angel need a reason?" he answered huskily.

He pulled her up sharply to him, her black hair fanning out behind her. She opened her blue eyes to meet his grey ones, the gold flecks more prevalent in the semi-darkness, shining with lust. He began to kiss her neck, teasing her much like she did to him in the car.

'Torture!' she screamed to herself, her eyes closing in ecstasy.

_Say, it'll make you insane_

_And I'm bending the truth_

_You're to blame_

_For all the life that you'll lose_

_And you watch this space_

_And I'm going all the way_

_And be your slave to the grave_

_I'm the priest God never paid_

Christine moaned a sigh of longing as the song ended, Erik moving away from her neck to kiss her on the lips. As wonderful as all the kisses they shared were, this one, filled not with innocent desire, but lust and adrenaline mixed with the beginning of love, made Christine completely forget about the many people around them, if she hadn't forgotten before. All Christine could focus on was Erik, the way his lips moved so perfectly in time with hers, the way his tongue explored the inside of her mouth without being awkward like Raoul's had been, the way he was making her feel this very moment, as if her heart would explode from excitement.

"BREAK IT UP!"

Christine's eyes flew open as she jumped back from Erik, startled to death. She felt her heart really would explode from the sudden grip of fear that had taken hold at the yell. That feeling was quickly replaced by one of extreme anger, as she made a growling sound and screamed obscenities to everyone around her, not sure who had said that.

Burning with embarrassment, she turned to Erik who was staring at the ground, trying not to laugh. He failed horribly and burst out laughing as Christine glared at him.

"Awww…" he said hugging her and kissing her forehead, "I'm sorry…I guess you're just too sexy for your own good."

Christine glared at him again, but was secretly thrilled that he thought she was sexy. She pulled away from him and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, let's get something to drink," she said as they made their way to the kitchen, "I don't like this song anyway."

It was true that she didn't really like the song that had been playing, even though she didn't know what it was called, but she really just wanted to get away from all the gawking people. She really didn't want to ruin such a good party with a serious Punjab frenzy.

The bright yellow kitchen decorated with rosters and other various farm animals (God knows why…) was littered with even more trash than the yard. Christine was really starting to feel sorry for Mrs. Kilgore as she saw that refrigerator and all the cabinets in the kitchen had been plundered and left completely empty, remnants of whatever they had been holding strewn all over the grey tile floor and white marble counters.

She closed all of the doors, picked up a cow printed washcloth, and began to clean the various spills off the counters, but to no avail as she realized that she was only making more of a mess. Christine sighed and threw the washcloth in the sink.

"I know this is mean," she said to Erik, washing her hands and drying them off on a matching towel, "but I'm really glad that I don't have to clean this up."

Erik nodded in agreement as she opened the refrigerator door again; realizing too late that it was empty.

"Well, so much for that," Christine closed the door and turned to see Erik staring at her.

She gave him a small smile and looked to the ground, noticing for the first time that they were completely alone in the kitchen. An awkward pause past between them until Erik grabbed her hands.

"Christine," he said quietly, leading her over to the kitchen table, "I need to ask you something."

Christine looked into his eyes, trying to decipher what it was he wanted to ask her and sat down at a cherry wood table, again, its true beauty covered by garbage.

She watched him intently as he closed his eyes and looked at her seriously.

"Christine," he started, his beautiful voice shaking a little, "I know I should have asked you this a long time ago, but, I just wasn't sure how you felt about me but now I know, well, I think I know-"

"Erik!" she said waving her arms, "stop rambling! That's my job!"

He smirked at her.

"That's true," he said as she smacked him playfully on the arm. She urged him to go on with what he wanted to say, even though she pretty much knew what it was. She still wanted to hear the words to make sure he really meant them.

"Okay, Christine," he attempted again, nervousness lifted somewhat from their joking around, "I know the term is kind of dumb, you know, what does going out with someone mean? Does it mean you go outside together? Then why can you only go out with one person? If you go outside with someone does that mean you're going out? But what if you go outside with a lot of people? I guess the best term is dating. Or going steady? But does that mean that before going steady you were wobbly? But-"

"Erik!" Christine screamed getting up out of her chair, "Now you are being ridiculous! Just ask me!"

Erik chuckled and sat Christine in her chair again, which he pulled to get closer to him.

"Christine," he started, yet again, his smile dancing in his eyes, "will you go out with me?"

Christine jumped out of her chair and clapped her hands together.

"Yes!" she said happily, "God, I thought you would ask me ages ago!"

It was Erik's turn to stare at the floor.

"Well, I really wanted to," he confessed, "but since you had broken up with Raoul not too long ago, I figured that you would want some time to be alone…and yeah…" he finished lamely.

"Well," Christine said, linking arms with him and heading off to dance some more, "he never has to get in our way again."

As they began to dance to another slow song, she really hoped that what she said was true.

**They are finally going out! I'm sorry this chapter is shorter than the last one, but ****I think this is a good place to stop the chapter rather than dragging on and on. Well, I hope you liked it anyway, and please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	18. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO, Slept So Long from the Queen of the Damned Soundtrack, or Gitans from Cirque du Soliel's Varekai.

**IMPORTANT! There are mature themes in this chapter, so if that offends you, scroll down to the -------and it will be over.**

**Okay! I am so sorry about the delay. I have been having major writer's block! This chapter and the next have been confusing me! That and I have been obsessively reading Queen of the Damned. Great book! And I turned 18! I'm legal! Now if I ever see either of the Gerards I can pounce on them and they won't get arrested! LOL! **

**Well, I here's the next chapter! I hope I don't get another flame! cough cough**

_Walking, waiting _

_Alone without a care _

_Hoping and hating _

_Things that I can't bare _

_Did you think it's cool to walk right up? _

_To take my life and fuck it up _

_Well did you _

_Well did you_

Christine walked into the band room and looked around.

'It's a lot bigger than I remember,'

The ceiling seemed to be very high and a pure white with bright lights, much different from the tan ceiling tiles that were missing in some places and yellowing, insect carcass filled lights that she thought were there.

She guessed it was a free day as she noticed blurry outlines of band students playing hacky sack in a circle. It was weird; even though the players were seemed to be talking at the normal volume, she couldn't hear them. She couldn't hear any thing.

Christine moved towards the couches on the far wall, walking with difficulty as her legs seemed to weigh a ton. On the far left couch sat Raoul, talking but silent band kids sitting on either side of him.

She was suddenly on her knees before him, staring into his greenish-brown eyes.

_I see hell in your eyes _

_Taken in by surprise _

_Touching you makes me feel alive _

_Touching you makes me die inside_

"Do you love her?" Christine heard herself ask him.

Raoul keep his eye contact with her as he moved his hand to subconsciously flatten his black hair.

"No, he said, moving forward, "How could I? I love you."

Christine looked up and noticed the ceiling had changed.

"What?"

She was lying on Raoul's bed, dressed only in her underwear. Christine sat up and looked in confusion around the room, which was completely empty except for the bed that she knew very well.

Before she could get up to look for her clothes, Raoul entered the room. Christine pulled the sheet up to cover her chest.

_Walking, waiting _

_Alone without a care _

_Hoping and hating _

_Things that I can't bare _

"Christine," Raoul said walking towards the bed, "I love you. You don't need to do that."

He indicated the sheet which she reluctantly lowered. She said nothing as he began to undress.

_Did you think it's cool to walk right up? _

_To take my life and fuck it up _

_Well did you _

_I hate you_

He pulled off his shirt and jeans quickly, leaving him only in his underwear, his arousal evident. Christine closed her eyes as he moved to the side of the bed and slid under the sheets. She hugged herself as she heard his breath right beside her. In spite of herself, she shivered in a sick pleasure as he placed his arms around her and kissed the sensitive part of her neck. Her eyes popped open as he pulled her roughly in front of him, still kissing her neck and stroking her bare back. He pulled her arms from their former position and lifted them over her head and Christine kept them there as his hands glided down her arms and underarms to cup her breasts.

_I hate you_

Before she could protest, he pushed her back on the bed, making the headboard hit the wall loudly. He ripped off her underwear and his, leaving her feeling uncomfortably exposed, and pinned her shoulders to the mattress before she could attempt to cover herself. He positioned himself at her entrance and continued to pin her to the bed, the pressure on her shoulders increasing. She gave a small cry of pain as he pushed inside her and removed her gaze from the ceiling to look at him.

'He's not even looking at me,'

_I see hell in your eyes _

_Taken in by surprise _

_Touching you makes me feel alive _

_Touching you makes me die inside _

Raoul lay down on her, his length still inside of her, and, still avoiding her gaze rested his head on her shoulder.

"You won't go all the way, will you?"

"No," she heard him say.

_I've slept so long without you _

_It's tearing me apart, too _

_How to get this far _

_Playing games with this old heart _

Christine fixed her gaze again on the ceiling, focusing on the intricate pattern. She forced herself to think of something, anything else, as he continued to move inside her.

_I've killed a million petty souls _

_But I couldn't kill you _

_I've slept so long without you_

Letting herself get taken away by her thoughts, she was brought sharply back to reality as she gasped in pain, Raoul thrusting harder and harder. Christine screamed in anger as she realized what he had done and gouged his back with her finger nails until he was bleeding. She wriggled beneath him violently but to no avail as he had her successfully trapped.

_I see Hell in your eyes _

_Taken in by surprise _

_Touching you makes me feel alive _

_Touching you makes me die inside_

Raoul gave one last thrust before she felt the sickening feeling of his finish inside of her. He quickly lifted himself off of her as she sat up quickly and attempted to hit him.

Raoul caught hold of her wrists and gripped them roughly, pulling her to him; his eyes filled with hate, and threw her back on the bed.

"Sorry," he said picking up his clothes and exiting the room.

_I see Hell in your eyes _

_Taken in by surprise _

_Touching you makes me feel alive _

_Touching you makes me die inside_

_------------------_

Christine awoke with a cry of anguish and sat up sharply.

"Just a dream," she told herself, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.

She lay back down on her pillow and rolled on her stomach and gripped the pillow tightly.

Why did she have dreams of Raoul all the time? They usually weren't that vivid.

'Why can't I just move on!' she thought angrily to herself, punching the pillow on the shape of her fist.

"Am I still in love with him?" she whispered to her dark bed room.

No, the after effect of those dreams usually left her with a feeling of relief that it was over. No more lying, no more "favors"….

But other times, she dreamt of the rare moments of happiness they had shared or how they would reconcile if they had the chance.

Did she want that chance?

Christine gave up the notion of sleep and looked at her alarm clock. It was 4 in the morning; only two hours after Erik had kissed her passionately at her door step and left her with an utmost feeling of happiness after having a great time at Andre's party. She had gone to sleep with the excited feeling of new love only to awaken two hours later from a memory she would rather forget.

Christine rose from her bed and smoothed the wrinkles out of her black spaghetti strap night dress, not bothering to turn on any of the lights in her room as she preferred to remain in the darkness. She grabbed her long black coat from the back of her desk chair, slipped on her red satin Chinese flip flops, and opened the door to the hallway, the only light being rays of moonlight shining in from the computer room windows. Christine silently crossed the hall, pulling on her coat by the moonlight, and made her way to the stairs, descending each stair gracefully, the coat dragging behind her.

When she reached the downstairs, she turned right to the silent kitchen and to the back door. She checked her pocket to find her MP3 player and used the light from the screen to unlock the door.

Christine was a little surprised at how cold it was outside as she exited the kitchen to the moon and star lit backyard and pulled her coat closer to her, but since it was just the end of March, it was understandable.

She looked at her MP3 player as she walked across the wooden deck and down the stairs, putting on the head phones and searching for the song that seemed to emulate how she felt. It wasn't until she had almost reached her beloved willow tree that she found it.

"Okay," she said pressing the play button, her breath visible in little puffs.

The only sound she could her for a split second were the distant sounds of the night, a train passing, a dog barking, the newly grown leaves rustling in the faint wind…

But then her head phones were filled with the sound of chanting. She placed the MP3 player back in her pocket and clamped her hands over the small headphones, trying to catch every word that was said, not to understand it, but just to listen to the beautiful sound that was created by the words and the violin that accompanied it as they messed together.

The chanting stopped and was replaced by the most hauntingly beautiful melody that instantly had the air of an ancient gypsy dance. She began to sway to the beat of the drum that played in the background of two violins and an accordion and removed her hands from over the head phones to raise them towards the night sky. Christine suddenly spun around and started to dance to the rhythm, just moving in the way the music made her feel. She kicked off her flip flops, making them disappear in the dark grass and pulled off her coat, not caring it was cold and yanked off the head phones, the music loud enough to hear with out them on.

Now free of her coat and shoes, she spun around even faster, her gaze fixed on the full moon. She thought of everything as she danced and imagined the gypsy melody to be for the celebration of a wedding. The song seemed to be a celebration of everlasting love, until death tore the lovers apart and took their spirits to whatever after life there was.

Her spirit soared with the high notes of the violins and as she danced, still gazing at the full silvery moon. With each passing phrase she danced to this song of love in hope that she would be rid of the love she had once had in return for a new one.

Only when the melody had faded into silence did she stop and return to reality. Christine shivered and ran to the coat and shoes that she had discarded on the ground. She gave once last look at the moon and ran across the dark lawn to the porch and the back door.

Careful not to make noise, she closed and locked the door as quietly as she could so she wouldn't wake her mother. She glided to the stairs, walking up them slowly, and tip toed to her room, closed the door and locked it.

Satisfied with her exploits, she dodged the random boxes and other things on the floor to her bed and added her coat to the pile of stuff. She kicked off her flip flops again and lay down on the bed, sinking into the warm covers and comfy mattress.

"Just a stupid dream," she whispered to the dark room again, rolling on to her stomach.

She buried her head into the pillow and quickly fell asleep to much better dreams than the last.

**This chapter might be kind of weird, but I've been out in the sun all day so if it is, that's the reason! **

**Oh, I had a question about the songs I use. I did write the lyrics to Dark Angel, not the music though, but I kind of have a tune worked out so I might put it to music someday. About the other songs, you could probably download them, they shouldn't be that hard to find. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who likes them. That would be kind of lame. **

**About Erik, I know he is a little different and I still have a lot of things to explain about him. Look for it in a coming chapter. **

**I did say that some of the plot was from past experiences, but not much, I guess I was misleading. Sadly, I do not know a guy like Erik or sing in a band. **

**Again, I am really sorry about how long it took for me to update again and that this chapter isn't longer. I really will try a lot harder to update more often and beat my muse until I have some ideas! **

**Please review! **


	19. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO.

**You know what bugs me? Hits! I don't know, they just do! I really would appreciate it if you reviewed, although I have read things and not reviewed them, mostly because I didn't know what to say. Thank you to the two people who have reviewed! Anyway, I have been rereading some of the earlier chapters and I have come to the conclusion that my spell check hates me. Well, here's the next chapter! **

"A double date?"

Christine and Meg were chatting in the noisy Math Pod before C block when Meg voiced the idea of Erik and Christine going to a movie with Meg and Andre. It was the Friday after the concert, Erik and Christine had been officially "going out" for almost a week and had yet to go on a real date.

"What movie did you have in mind?" Christine asked, dodging a pack of wild freshmen running to lunch.

"Well, Andre wanted to see The Ring 2 and I kind of wanted to see it too," she answered pulling out the movie times in the local newspaper out of her messenger bag, "The times are at 4, 6, 8, and 10. How about we go to the 6 o' clock showing so maybe we could do something else afterwards?"

The minute bell rang and they walked across the Math Pod to their class and entered to move to the back of the room, their normal seating area, and sit in desks side by side. The uninspiring Intermediate Algebra classroom was pretty much empty at the moment except for a random student frantically trying to finish their homework, the rest of the class preferring to run in at the last moment. Christine studied the various would be inspirational posters that covered the white room. You know the kind that show a picture of a ladder and are supposed to make you want to be the very best student you can be.

"Well, I'll have to ask Erik, but I'm sure we'd be able to," she said, starting to erase the disgusting drawings that some hillbilly drew on her desk.

Meg clapped her ring and bracelet clad hands as the bell rang which sure enough heralded a stampede of procrastinating students.

The students rushed to their seats, eager to avoid the wraith of Mrs. Cleveland, one teacher that you really don't want to mess with. Mrs. Cleveland entered the room and immediately asked that they place last night's homework on their desks to be checked. Meg and Christine rolled their eyes at each other as the thirty-some year old teacher swooped to each desk in succession.

"So what time do you want to meet?" Meg whispered to Christine, who was reaching into her bag to grab her homework.

Before Christine could answer, Mrs. Cleveland appeared at her desk, demanding to see her homework and berating her for talking to Meg.

"Talking won't help you with math," she said in a know it all kind of voice, checking to make sure every math problem was complete on last night's ever so enthralling worksheet.

Christine looked up to stare Mrs. Cleveland straight in the eye. She really wasn't unattractive as she was still young with chin length brown hair and brown eyes, but her attitude made her the most infuriating being on the planet.

She gave Mrs. Cleveland a forced smile and nodded her head slowly, deciding it was just better to agree so she could hopefully pass the class and get it over with.

Mrs. Cleveland gave a fake smile in return and turned sharply on her brown flat heels to check Meg's homework. Christine laid her head in her arms on the desk and shook her head, trying to get the image of Mrs. Cleveland's horrible pink zebra striped dress out of her mind.

After Meg's homework had been examined, Christine looked over to roll her eyes again and sigh.

"Before we are interrupted again," she started, making sure that Mrs. Cleveland was out of ear shot, "how about we meet at 5:20 so we have some time to walk around the mall and be the mall rats we are supposed to be."

Meg laughed and nodded and sunk down into her desk to half heartedly listen to Mrs. Cleveland's endless preaching on collinear lines. Christine leaned back in her chair to stare at the one pitiful window in the classroom and wondered what the night would bring and what exactly she was getting herself into.

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"Now if you all don't shut up, you are going to get kicked out!"

The hilarity of the Ring 2 was momentarily interrupted by a disgruntled employee of the local movie theater trying to affirm superiority by threatening the giggling teenagers in the back to stop making so much noise. It just so happened that Erik, Christine, Meg and Andre were in the back and after abandoning the idea of seeing a scary movie, laughed and screamed with the rest of the hooligans.

"Seriously," he yelled, "The next one who makes a sound will be asked to leave!"

There was silence in the theater for about a minute, the only sound being the movie, but was broken by a high pitched scream a few seat down form the "gang" timed perfectly with the discovery of Somura's latest victim.

The employee, whatever his title was, sighed loudly and stomped out of the theater, doing nothing to hide his frustration with the juvenile delinquents.

The previously mentioned delinquents laughed even louder and increased the noise.

Christine rolled her eyes and turned to Erik, who was of course sitting beside her.

"This is so much fun," she whispered, leaning in closer to him, "I feel kind of sorry for the people who actually came to seriously watch the movie."

An older couple sitting in front of them, probably in their late 40's, turned to glare at Erik and Christine. Erik simply shrugged and waved sarcastically while Christine gave them a mock salute. The older couple turned back around haughtily, folding their arms in front of them and Christine could even hear a faint "well, I never!"

"Scratch that," she said, grimacing, "no, I don't."

The rest of the movie continued with laughing and random screaming, turning moments that should have been scary into memories that Christine would laugh at for many days to come. The deer attacking the car was one of the funniest things that she had seen in years and when the little boy ate the drugged sandwich was surprisingly hilarious.

"Yummy drugged sandwich," Andre had said, observing how strangely the kid was munching on the sandwich.

Finally the moment came when what's her name, the main character lady was trapped in Somura's world in the television and Somura was climbing up the side of the well like a frickin' spider thing.

"Oh, I've seen this in commercials!" she heard Meg exclaim on her other side.

"Mommy?" Somura asked.

"I'm not your fucking mommy!" The main character whose name I forget replied, shutting her in the well.

The teenagers burst out laughing and began to clap and holler as the adults gave a collective, exasperated sigh, realizing that they would have to rent the movie to be able to watch it and enjoy the intend effect.

The movie ended all too soon in Christine's opinion, as she was enjoying laughing with people she didn't even know about what was supposed to be, as the preps at school had called it, "like, the scariest movie, like, ever!" Of course, the prospect of sitting semi-alone in semi-darkness with Erik was appealing also. Erik was sitting on her left side, Meg on her right, with the unmasked side of his face next to her, occasionally giving and receiving kisses while Meg and Andre were "occupied." This had resulted in getting popcorn throw on them from the row behind them, but one intimidating look from Erik solved that problem and discouraged who ever was responsible to cut it out.

Erik removed the arm he had shyly draped around her shoulders at the beginning of the movie as the theater lights came on to reveal all of the stuffy adults in the theater standing in front of their seats and glaring sternly at the back rows. Erik, Christine, Meg and Andre merely laughed at their attempt to make them feel guiltily and left the theater.

"So what now?" Meg asked linking arms with Andre outside of the theater.

Because the only theater in their small, boring, southern town was in the mall which is pretty much the only thing to do, the popular activities after you see a movie are to…

Walk aimlessly around the mall, stopping to go to the same stores you go to every time you visit the mall in the exact same order with the exact same stuff.

Venture to the arcade a few steps away from the theater and play smelly old games (some of them really do smell very badly…) or stand around out side of it, proving how hard core you actually are.

Find somewhere to sit until you are told off by the most aggravating mall cops who just don't like you because you remind of them what losers they are.

Stand outside of the mall, smoke cigarettes, and start lame ass fights that bring the whole bored populous of the teenagers and the previously mentioned mall cops to break it up and ban you from the mall, pretty much depriving you of all entertainment in the city limits, but provided photo opportunities for the "kiddies."

Anyway, the group was deciding which stupidly fun activity they would chose when Christine overheard singing. Awesomely bad singing…

"Karaoke!" Christine yelled with glee, "Let's go!"

There were about two sit down restaurants in the mall, one being Piccadilly (fun…), the other being a place called Garfield's with mundane food and lackluster service. One thing they did have was a karaoke contest, usually on Tuesday nights, but for some reason on a Friday night. (Ah, the power of phanfiction!)

Christine and Meg were dragging Erik and Andre into the restaurant, refusing to be seated and made their way to the bar. They beheld a makeshift stage with a microphone and one of those little karaoke machines with the words to whatever song you wanted to sing scrolling across a TV screen with a little ball bouncing on each syllable.

The current contender was a 20 ish male, obviously very drunk, crooning along to Hero, unfortunately sung by Enrique Inglesias. Christine cringed and felt Erik grip her hand firmly, asserting that he sure as hell did not want to do this.

Christine smiled up at him.

"It's just a little fun!" she pleaded, raising a hand to his unmasked cheek, "I know the perfect song!"

She whispered something in his ear causing him to laugh.

"Okay…" he said, shaking his head, "Let's get this over with."

Christine squealed and told an arguing Meg and Andre the song she had in mind. Meg laughed and clapped her hands as Andre instantly agreed, winking and giving thumbs up.

"Awesome!"

She pulled Meg over to the registration table and confidently signed them up for the contest, the winner(s) receiving a free dinner, to a certain extent, at the restaurant.

Meg pulled Christine into the bathroom after they had signed up, signaling to the "guys" where they were going and closed the door.

"I am having such a good time with Andre!" she exclaimed, walking over to the faux white marble sinks and looking into the mirror, making sure her white, black, and red plaid pants and solid black peasant top were looking as good as she felt in them, "what about you?"

Christine smiled to herself and leaned against the tan colored tiled wall, thinking about nice Erik looked tonight in a black track jacket with red stripes, a green shirt advertising The Used's newest album, and dark denim jeans. This was the first time she had seen Erik so casual, usually he dressed very formally, and she realized that she liked him even more this way.

He still wore the mask, although it was a nude color that blended perfectly with his skin tone. When Christine had asked his about it, he had replied that his father gave it to him. Christine had felt sorry for him for an instant but then wondered what kind of father made gifts of masks to his son. Did he really need it? Did he have more in common with her childhood hero, The Phantom of the Opera than just a first name?

"Christine!"

She jerked back to the physical world as Meg shook her, claiming that she had been trying to get her attention for five minutes. Christine removed herself from Meg's grasp as she walked over to the sinks and looked in the mirrors at her reflection.

For once, she liked what she saw she thought as she smoothed the invisible creases in her favorite pair of jeans and her perfectly fit black Full Metal Alchemist shirt.

"What's wrong?" Meg asked, looking at Christine's reflection as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Nothing," Christine smiled into the mirror and turned to face Meg, "Come on, let's go win this thing."

Meg rubbed her hands together, cackled, and exited the bathroom, Christine right behind her, lifting up the bottoms of her jeans to make sure the laces on her heart-covered Converses were tied. She really didn't want to trip on stage.

They found Erik and Andre sitting at one of the small tables in the bar area, talking about who knows what. Okay, Andre was doing the talking, while Erik, fingers tangled in his shaggy, dark brown hair, had his eyebrows raised, and was staring skeptically at Andre.

Erik noticed that they had return and motioned for Christine to sit in a chair beside him.

"We're up next," he said, answering her unasked question as she sat down.

Christine nodded and looked toward the stage at the current contestant. She was also very drunk and belting out Christina Aguilera's Genie in a Bottle, complete with "sexy" dance moves.

"You know what," Erik observed, watching in silent disgust as the "diva" did a wobbly belly dance, "I think we're the only people that aren't doing this completely intoxicated."

"You are probably right," Christine agreed as the contestant ended her song and practically fell off stage, climbing onto an empty bar stool.

"Now it's time for Erik, Andre, Christine and Meg to sing a little old school," the DJ announced, "give it up for them!"

They got up from the table and walked towards the stage, waving warily at the many drunken cheers they were receiving. Christine began to wonder if this was such a good idea as she smiled and politely declined and offer to "get down" with a man probably three times her age.

Before Erik could protest, they pushed him to the microphone, as he would be singing the lead and Meg, Andre, and Christine gathered around a second microphone that was brought out to sing back up. The DJ gave the signal to start and they began the song,

_Is this the real life-  
Is this just fantasy-  
Caught in a landslide-  
No escape from reality-  
Open your eyes  
Look up to the skies and see-  
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy-  
Because I'm easy come, easy go,  
A little high, little low,  
Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me,  
To me_

Erik pulled out the microphone which brought whistles and random screams of "I love you!" This made Erik shake his head and silently curse Christine for talking him into doing this.

_Mama, just killed a man,_

_Put a gun against his head,_

_Pulled my trigger, now he's dead,_

_Mama, life had just begun,_

_But now I've gone and thrown it all away-_

_Mama Ooo,_

_Didn't mean to make you cry-_

_If I'm not back again this time tomorrow-_

_Carry on; carry on, as if nothing really matters-_

Meg, Christine, and Andre had quickly worked out a back up singer routine, snapping their fingers together, in time with the piano recording to which Erik was singing to.

_Too late, my time has come,  
Sends shivers down my spine-  
Body's aching all the time,  
Goodbye everybody-I've got to go-  
Got to leave you all behind and face the truth-  
Mama ooo- (any way the wind blows)  
I don't want to die,  
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all-_

Christine's eyes were fixed on Erik as he began to really sing the words like he meant them, different from before when he sang them a little strained, not sincere at all. His eyes met hers as he quickly turned around before the fun part started.

_I see a little silhouette of a man,_

_Scaramouche, Scaramouche will you do the Fandango-_

_Thunderbolt and lightning-very very frightening me-_

_Galileo, Galileo,_

_Galileo Galileo_

_Galileo figaro-Magnifico-_

_But I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me-_

_He's just a poor boy from a poor family-_

_Spare him his life from this monstrosity-_

_Easy come easy go-, will you let me go-_

_Bismillah! No-, we will not let you go-let him go-_

_Bismillah! We will not let you go-let him go_

_Bismillah! We will not let you go-let me go_

_Will not let you go-let me go_

_Will not let you go let me go_

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no-_

_Mama Mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go-_

_Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me-_

She laughed as Andre shrieked the really high parts and Meg bellowed the low parts. Christine stuck to her normal range and made dramatic gestures, Meg and Andre joining in, making a show of the "let me go" part as they abandoned their microphone and fought over Erik, Meg and Christine on one side and Andre on the other, cackling evilly and scaring Erik in the process.

Erik pushed them aside, except for Christine who he began to dance with during the awesome guitar solo, while Andre and Meg resorted to head banging (think Wayne's World) He twirled her away and sang the lyrics to her, holding one of her hands.

_So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye-_

_So you think you can love me and leave me to die-_

_Oh baby-Can't do this to me baby-_

_Just gotta get out-just gotta get right outta here-_

Christine smiled at him for about the millionth time as sang/screamed the accusing lyrics to her, but obviously didn't mean them as he gave her that sexy, dark look that she loved.

He drew her up to him again and gave her a quick kiss as Andre played the air guitar, Meg still banging her head and dancing wildly.

Christine pulled away from him as she, Meg, and Andre went to the other microphone again to finish the song and sway in time.

_Nothing really matters,_

_Anyone can see,_

_Nothing really matters-, nothing really matters to me,_

_Any way the wind blows..._

Erik whispered the last line into the micro phone as the song ended to tumultuous applause. Christine had almost forgotten that they were doing some silly karaoke contest until she heard the reaction and stepped towards Erik and encouraged him to take a bow. Before he could, however, the DJ interrupted.

"Well, I think it's obvious who won this thing," he announced, "let's give them another round of applause!"

The audience clapped and yelled even louder this time, the other contestants not angry because they really didn't even remember competing in the contest anyway.

They were led off the stage and into the main dining areas, decorated with random, fake memorabilia that thoroughly confused Christine, the drunks losing interest and ordering another drink, and to the podium thing where the hosts waited to seat you.

The manager was the one waiting there, a man of about 35 and was already balding, wearing a light blue button up shirt with Khaki pants and a gold name tag that said "Manager" confirming their suspicions.

"Would you like to use your gift certificates now or wait?" he asked, handing them each a little card with Garfield's embellished on it.

They looked at each other without speaking decided against it.

"I think we'll wait," Erik answered for the group.

The manager gave them a curt nod and clapped his hands together.

"Well, ok then," he said putting away menus that were probably supposed to be for them, "The cards expire in a year and have a total value of ten dollars each."

The manager bid them farewell as they thanked him and exited the restaurant.

The stores in the mall were pretty much already closed as they looked around except for the movie theater and Garfield's as they had separate hours from the stores. They walked down a short hall, carpeted by the typical fugly junk that you usually find in malls, to the closest exit and found themselves outside, surrounded by smokers and all around ruffians. (Remember them?)

Christine avoided eye contact as she grabbed Erik hand and walked to the parking lot to Andre's SUV, a red 2000 Jeep Liberty. They decided to drive together and Andre volunteered as Erik's was only a two-seater.

Erik opened the back car door for her as she rolled her eyes, insisting that she could open the door herself, though she did like the attention.

When they were all buckled in, Andre started the car and turned off his CD player which had been playing Green Day.

"What now?" Andre asked, looked over at Meg and back at Erik and Christine.

Christine glanced at Erik from the corner of her eye and caught him doing the same thing. They turned to face each other and nodded.

"Waffle House," they said in unison.

**Yay! I like this chapter! I got to listen to Bohemian Rhapsody, which by the way I do not own but was written and composed by the Great Freddie Mercury and performed by Queen, about a million times, and imagine Erik singing it. WOO! Anyway, please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	20. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO, or No One Would Listen, from ALW'S POTO, which should never have been cut from the film!

**Wow! I didn't think that everyone would like the karaoke scene so much! I love Bohemian Rhapsody and I thought it was perfect for the four of them to perform to. **

**Anyway, thank you for reviewing! Makes me happy! Here's the next chapter!**

Erik awoke the next morning to an overcast day, dim light from the cloudy sky shinning in through the blinds of the window. He felt a slight headache developing from sleeping too long and decided it was time to start the day.

The black alarm on his nightstand read 9 o'clock as he sat up, stretched his arms a little, swung his legs from underneath the bed coverings, and stood up. He absentmindedly placed his hand on the nightstand and felt the mask he had left there the night before. He picked it up and frowned at how well it served its purpose, that being to hide what made him different and brought him closer to being exactly like everyone else.

'Not today,' he thought to himself, setting it back down to its original position.

Erik had slept in the clothes he had worn the day before and quickly decided to change that. He showered and changed into his normal black as it would be appropriate that day.

He unlocked and opened the door to his tidy room, doubling back to pick up his guitar case. As he made for the door again, he glanced back at his room, still only partially lit from the weak rays of sunlight, and noticed the only things visible being the display case of masks he owned. They caught the rays of light, gleaming menacingly in the darkness, as if to in force his father's wish of wearing them. Erik turned his back on them and closed the door, still intent on his decision to go without a mask.

He walked noiselessly down the long, dark hall way, decorated by nothing but the occasional golden framed mirror, which reminded him exactly why his father in forced the masks. Erik kept his gaze straight ahead, trying not to look out of the corner of his eyes and turned left at the end of the hall to climb down the stairs.

Not feeling particularly hungry, he walked past the kitchen to the front door, grabbing his coat from the coat closet on the way and setting down the guitar case. Without even bothering to check if anyone was there, he knew there wouldn't be, he pulled on his coat, unlocked the door, picked up the guitar case, and made sure the hood of his coat was pulled over his face before opening the door to the outside world.

The sun had become a little brighter than before, but Erik paid no heed to this as he exited the house and locked the door again, checking to make sure the door was secure. He then descended the few grey, stone steps that led from the front door to the sidewalk, turning left to the side of the house.

This is where Erik kept a little garden of red, white, and black rose bushes; safe from Mr. Destler's destroying hands. When he was about 10, he planted his first rose bush in the backyard, and dedicated almost all of his time caring for it, as he was home schooled and didn't really have anyone to talk to, besides his stuffy tutors. When it had finally brought forth new blooms of red roses, his father noticed it and immediately ran out to the backyard with an axe, splintering the bush into pieces and tearing the perfect flowers to shreds. Erik watched from his bedroom window in agony, horrified that his father could be capable of destroying something so beautiful. Before he could even begin to be upset, his father bolted into the house and stomped up the stairs. He listened in silent fear as Mr. Destler pounded heavily down the hallway, in time with Erik's heart beat and wrenched open the bed room door, dropping the axe and grabbing Erik by the scruff of his collar.

'"I never want to see another rose bush again! What right do you have to care for them as she did?"'

Erik assumed that the "she" his father was talking about was his mother, whom he had never met as she died during childbirth.

He snapped back to reality as a car drove swiftly by and examined the white rose bush. Erik found one he deemed to be perfect and broke its stem from the bush, careful not to cut his fingers and brought the single rose closer to inspect it. It truly was a picture of perfection, the white petals opened to their fullest extent, no signs of withering evident or brown spots blemishing the surface from the insects that survived the insecticide.

Erik inhaled the intoxicating scent, closing his eyes and remembering the deal he had struck with his father. He could grow roses at the side of the house, but only there, with no mention of their existence. Erik thought the demands to be a little silly, but didn't say anything or disobey. There was probably a reason, as there is for everything else, and it obviously had something to do with his mother, who his father never spoken about.

He turned suddenly to face the street and walked back across the yard to the sidewalk, still clutching the rose in one hand and the guitar case in the other. Once on the sidewalk, Erik turned to the right and put his head down and pulled the hood even farther down. No one else was around, except for the occasional car passing by, but he didn't want to take any chances of startling anyone, as they would probably gossip about it and sooner or later his father would hear that he had not been wearing a mask and would become angry. Besides, he had some where to go that day…

A strong wind had started during his journey and Erik chanced a glimpse at the sky. The sun that had barely begun to peak out from behind the clouds was now completely blocked from view by powerful, dark grey storm clouds. Erik could hear the wind violently rustling the new leaves on the trees as he opened a neat, black metal fence that stood in his path, guitar case and rose still in hand. He knew where he was going, as he visited this place often, and weaved in and out of the gravestones, some elaborate, and some plain.

Erik's eyes were still fixed on the ground, examining every blade of grass, until he knew he was standing in front of what he had come for. His eyes slowly left the ground to read the simple inscription,

_Grace Destler_

_1967-1987_

That was it. That was all he knew about her. Her name, age when she died, how she died, and that she had grown roses. He probably wouldn't even know where her grave was if he hadn't stumbled across it by accident on one of his long walks a few years earlier.

Erik sighed and bent down to lay the single white rose at the foot of her grave. Since he had found her grave, he had taken to bringing a rose, a white rose, to it when the blooms were perfect. Even though he had never known her, she deserved only the best.

He sat down on the soft grass, setting his guitar case beside him, and stared at the name on the grave stone. _Grace Destler…_

Erik put his head in his hands and felt the side of his face that was usually covered with a mask. He traced the lines of distorted flesh as he thought back to the one thing his father had really told him about his mother. The reason she died and why he was so insistent on the mask.

"'She died giving you life,"' he had said turning away and choking back a sob, "'you're the reason she's dead. There were complications. The doctors still don't know what caused any of it. But I know it's because no one as beautiful as her could ever bring something as hideous as you into the world."'

After that, his father gave him his first mask, a sterile, white medical mask, and told him he was to cover his face with it at all times so whenever he was around Erik, even if that was very seldom, he wouldn't be reminded that in exchange for his beloved wife's life, he got Erik and his disfigurement.

That was when Erik was five, and shortly after saw his father much less than before. For those five years it had only been his father, his nurse, and him, his father always locked in his library for hours, sometimes days, drowning in his own self pity and misery. Suddenly, Mr. Destler went back to his old life as a successful attorney, rarely speaking to Erik and never talking about his wife.

Erik's days were filled with hours upon hours of studying with the best tutors money could buy along with anything else that he believed would make Erik content. All this did, however, was to shape Erik into an extremely quiet child with low self-esteem, but who was also very mature and able to take care of himself. At age 8, his nurse, who had been with him since birth and had inspired his early love for music, confronted Mr. Destler and demanded he let Erik try to have a normal life.

"'Let him go to school like normal children! Let him have friends like normal children! Slowly depriving him of all human happiness won't ease your own pain!"'

Erik's nurse was immediately fired after that and he lost the closest thing to a mother he had ever had.

That was when he discovered The Phantom of the Opera. A few weeks after she had been let go, Erik, now unsupervised, finally dared to enter his father's private sanctuary, the library.

His father had left him a brief note on the kitchen table explaining that he was going out of town for two weeks and that he was on his own, save for the day a maid came to clean and his current tutor came to give him a lesson. But that wasn't today, so he had the house completely to himself, longer than usual.

When he first opened the door with a shaky hand, he couldn't see a thing as there was no window in the room. Erik blindly ran his hand up and down the wall to find the light switch, and when he did, was rewarded with the most magnificent sight he had ever beheld.

The light switch illuminated an elaborate brass chandelier, which gave light to a huge room, the walls completely covered with shelves upon shelves of books, save for a large, intricately carved, granite fire place on the far right wall. The center of the room was filled with elegant, brown leather sofas and arm chairs and a handsome, oak table with a single book on its surface. Erik timidly moved towards the table, silently closing the door, picked up the book, and glanced at the title.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.

Intrigued, Erik opened the book to a random page, his eyes immediately catching the words **Erik** and **Mask**.

Erik looked up from the book and stared straight ahead at the rows of books, but his mind was else where.

'What does it mean?'

He turned the book back to the beginning, sat down in an arm chair, and at once was plunged into the world of the Opera Ghost, or Erik, who he learned was also badly deformed.

Erik finished the book several hours later. His eyes strained from reading for so long, and his stomach growled with hunger, but he neither noticed nor cared.

For once in his life, he didn't feel alone. This book had shown him that he wasn't. He finally had someone to relate to in this lonely existence, even if that person had been maddened by love and died from a broken heart.

Even though it wasn't much, it was pretty much all he had.

During the passing years, Erik became even better at music than he was before, inspired by the Opera Ghost, and spent most of his time practicing the piano and developing his voice.

The rise of the internet had eventually swept the world and Erik was finally able to reach out to and explore things he never knew existed. He also discovered, to his delight that The Phantom of the Opera had not fallen from human knowledge and was very popular, inspiring others to write more books and Andrew Lloyd Webber to create a musical. He quickly ordered a recording of the musical and instantly loved it. Even though a few things were different, it Erik felt it captured the essence of Leroux's novel, but succeed in making it something that had a life of its own.

Erik devoured all of the pictures of the show and was especially inspired by Erik who was called simply the Phantom in the show. He admired his dark and mysterious manner and the fact that in this version, only half of his face was distorted, and seemed he could relate to him even more. Erik ordered a replica of the half mask and waited anxiously for the day that he could throw away the tacky medical mask for good, in favor of paying homage to the Opera Ghost. That day arrived and Erik was very happy with the results. His father didn't really care as long as wore a mask.

At 14, when tutors couldn't teach him anything more, his father finally enrolled him at the local high school. There were, of course, rules that had to be broken for Erik, as masks usually weren't allowed in school, but when given the right amount of money, the school officials can be pretty lenient.

High school was a major shock for Erik, who had barely been out in public before, and was now surrounded by screaming teenagers all day. Sure he had a television and internet access, but nothing could prepare him for this. Slowly but surely, Erik discovered that he wasn't the only person who liked the kind of music and books and movies that he did and began, for the first time in his life, to make friends. There had been a few questions and remarks about the mask, someone of them rather rude, but Erik simply shrugged them off and walked away.

Then, during his sophomore year, he saw her for the first time.

Erik was just exiting the school through the door he normally did one warm autumn day, when he was momentarily blinded by the bright sun and shielded the light from his eyes with his arm. When he had recovered proper vision, his grey eyes caught the gleam of long golden blond hair of a girl sitting on patch on grass, surrounded by a group of people. Erik held his breath as the girl turned to the side, giving him a view of her profile.

She was exactly how he had imagined Christine Daae, the Opera Ghost's unrequited love to be. He felt his heart race as she turned around, almost looking at him, her blond hair falling over her shoulders and blue eyes twinkling in the sunlight. Erik began to walk over to her, but stopped abruptly as the boy sitting beside her pulled her to him and kissed her. Erik felt his heart plummet to his stomach as he saw her smile at the boy in adoration and kiss him back.

He quickly hurried his pace and walked away, not daring to look back at the happy couple.

As much as he believed it could never be and tried to just forget about her, Erik found it increasingly difficult as he began to notice her around school more and more. He finally settled with learning all he could about her without stalking her. Just a question here and there to the few friends he had made, never to the same one as not to be suspicious. When he first discovered her name was Christine Day, he thought it had to be a joke at first, but then when it proved to be true, was even more interested in asking about her.

By some amazing turn of events, she was finally free of Raoul, who he had found out was named by a grandmother that believed in family traditions, and he could at last really get to know her and try to develop a relationship with her. She had changed from the girl he had first became infatuated with, but by that point he was smitten by the person she was on the inside more than on the outside.

Erik lifted his head from his hands and touched the inscription on his mother's grave. As his slender fingers lightly traced the elegant script of the name and date, he sighed once more, wishing that he could have just one memory of his mother.

He had carefully laid his guitar case beside him when he first reached her grave and now opened it and pulled out an exquisite acoustic guitar. It had belonged to his nurse until just before she had left, when she had given it to him in hopes that he would remember her and continue to rejoice in one thing his father could never deny him of. His music.

Erik now leaned against his mother's grave stone, fingers on the strings of the guitar, poised to play, and followed the wish of the one mother he had happy memories of.

_No one would listen _

_No one but her _

_Heard as the outcast hears._

_Shamed into solitude _

_Shunned by the multitude _

_I learned to listen _

_In my dark, my heart heard music._

_I longed to teach the world _

_Rise up and reach the world _

_No one would listen _

_I alone could feel the music _

_Then at last, a voice in the gloom _

_Seemed to cry "I hear you; _

_I hear your fears, _

_Your torment and your tears." _

_She saw my loneliness _

_Shared in my emptiness _

_No one would listen _

_No one but her _

_Heard as the outcast hears _

_No one would listen _

_No one but her _

_Heard as the outcast hears..._

Erik remained at his mother's grave until night fall, the inspiration for this song, originally his loving nurse, unknown to him. He tried to recall images of her, but couldn't as all he could think of was Christine.

**This chapter was very difficult to write. I can't tell you how many hours have slipped by as I was writing this. Well, please review and tell me what you think! Love and Peace! Kupo!**

**Iris Knotwise: Where are you!**


	21. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO.

**Ummm…I guess this answers the question as to whether or not I am still alive…All I have to say is, if you want the chapters to be well thought out and riveting, although I doubt my writing is ever riveting, my muse needs time to sit and do nothing. And the 6th Harry Potter book came out! I will always be a dedicated HP fangirl, requirements being that I have to jump around and yell SQUEEEE a lot and remind my co workers every single day how excited I am for it. So yeah…I've been a little busy…anyway, please enjoy this next chapter!**

"They asked us to do what!"

Mask and Black Rose were gathered in Andre's garage for the now weekly Tuesday afternoon band practice, Christine and Andre sprawled out on neon colored beanbag chairs, when Erik surprised them all with the Prom Committee's request that they perform at the annual shindig.

"Just what I said," Erik confirmed causally, "the president, or whatever they're called, just walked up to me and asked if we would do it. Take a look."

Erik handed Christine a red flyer that had been neatly folded in half and read what it announced,

_The Cabot High School Prom Committee Presents:_

_**Midnight Masquerade**_

_**Prom 2005**_

"You've got to be kidding!" she exclaimed, smiling at Erik, "this is awesome!"

Erik returned her smile and leaned down to plant a kiss on her forehead.

"So," Erik said, glancing between Andre and Christine, "should we accept?"

"Definitely," Andre said clapping his hands together, "just one problem."

"Devon," the three of them said together, Erik and Andre sighing.

Devon had arrived late to practice last week and announced that he was through, storming out of the garage with his bass in hand shouting obscenities over his shoulder. While Erik and Andre had no idea what caused this, it probably had to do with the fact that Christine had finally had enough of his rudeness, this time following her car to Andre's house (Erik had left school early that day) and attempting to catch her off guard which earned him a kick him in the stomach. Well, she was aiming for his stomach, but hit a little bit lower than that…

Christine suppressed a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand and focused in on the conversation at hand.

"Well," Erik began, pacing the concrete floor, "we'll just have to find a replacement. You know anyone, Christine?"

She shook her head and lay back on the beanbag chair, making a strange squeaking sound as she did. There has to be someone…

"I've got it!" Andre yelled, jumping out of his beanbag chair dramatically, "James Carter! He plays bass and his band just broke up, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Christine said, rolling over on her side to look at Andre, "he's pretty good too."

Erik stopped pacing and studied Andre for a moment, holding his chin thoughtfully.

"He could work," Erik agreed, nodding, "do you know his number?"

"Well, it's in the directory, let me call him," Andre said, swiftly moving towards the kitchen door.

He wrenched open the kitchen door and left it open so Erik and Christine could hear the conversation as the phone was hanging on a wall near the door. Erik walked over to Christine's chair and sat in front of it as they heard Andre ask, "Hi is James there?"

Christine smiled down at him and grabbed his hands.

"Can you believe it?" she asked excitedly, "a Masquerade! Even if it is for the dinky old prom…"

Erik nodded silently and grinned mischievously at her.

"What," Christine said warily, raising her eyebrows.

"I have an idea of what we should do," he told her, smiling even more.

"And?" she nodded, urging him to continue.

He rose on his knees to lean in and whisper into her ear.

"How wicked would it be if the The Red Death and his Lady were to attend the mundane high school prom?" he asked.

"Very!" Christine exclaimed, "That is an awesome idea!"

She pulled back and kissed him on the lips.

"Where are you going to get a Red Death costume?" she asked skeptically.

"Oh don't worry about me," he said reassuringly, "just worry about your own."

She stuck her tongue out at him in a "well fine then" way and kissed him again, Andre's conversation with James a soft mumble in the background. Christine pulled away again to whisper into his ear.

"One thing," she said, trying not to laugh, "What makes you think I'm going with you?"

Erik gasped and pulled away to give her a look of mock hurt, Christine laughing out loud at his expression. His bottom lip started to tremble making her giggle even more.

"Awwww," she said, hugging him and pulling him to her chest, "its okay Snooky Bear."

"Snooky Bear?" she heard Erik's muffled voice say, "Can't I have a manlier pet name?"

Christine laughed again and patted the top of his head.

"You can't have everything you want just because your name ends with a K…"

* * *

James met up with them after school the next day in the parking lot and agreed to join the band, Andre shaking his hand enthusiastically. Erik, on the other hand, gave a nod and wrapped his arm around Christine. 

"Well, I have to get going," Erik said, kissing Christine on forehead.

"Where?"

Erik shook his head and gave one of his mischievous smiles.

"You'll find out in good time, Lady Red Death," he winked at her and walked over to his car a few spaces away, waving at her one last time. She returned the wave slowly and smiled to herself, yet again.

"I better get going too," Andre said, "going to met Meg."

He waved a hand in Christine's direction, and shrugged when she didn't return it as she was watching Erik drive away.

"So, I take it it's working out?"

She turned around to face James who was smiling at her.

"Yeah," her smile brightening, "it is."

"I'm glad."

Although they didn't speak that much anymore, Christine and James had been friends since sixth grade, meeting on the first day of English class. Christine had even developed a slight crush for James, but as the years past, they grew apart and met new people. The last time they had really had time to talk was junior year and Christine was still involved with Raoul. How time flies…

"So," Christine said starting to walk through the parked cars, gesturing for James to follow her, "I take it you heard about Raoul…"

James nodded and put his hands in his jean pockets.

"Must have been hard, but I guess it's safe to say you are doing ok."

"I think I am," she agreed, "although, there are times."

"Understandable."

They crossed the street that lay in front of the school, jay walking, Christine heading for a set of concrete stairs and sitting down, James still following her.

"What about you?" Christine asked, taking off her messenger bag and setting it on a slightly damp stair, "everyday I hear different things about you and Jessica. Which is it?"

James laughed laid back on the stair behind him, his gaze turned towards the blue sky, which had cleared since the rain which had fallen earlier that day.

"Well, you probably know better than I do," he sighed, eyes still lock on the sky, "I just don't know what to do. I really care about her, I do, but I just don't feel the same way about her. Do you understand?"

Christine said nothing, closing her eyes and thinking about his words. _Do you understand?_ Well, she didn't, but she knew someone who probably did…

"Tell her how you feel," Christine said suddenly, "she would appreciate knowing."

"But-" James began, but Christine forcefully cut him off.

"Tell her," she uttered so strongly that she surprised even herself, "if you really care about her, don't lie to her. Don't be selfish about something like this."

Christine closed her eyes and silence fell, the only noises around them being the passing cars of parents picking their children up from school. She heard James clear his throat.

"You're right," he admitted finally.

"Trust me," she said, opening her eyes and turning to face him, "she'll appreciate it later."

James nodded slowly and met her gaze, his green eyes filled with…what was it? Was it regret? A slight wind ruffled his curly, dark blond hair and she had to resist the sudden urge to run her fingers through it.

'Stop it!' she yelled to herself, 'you are over this dumb middle school crush, remember?'

Nevertheless, Christine's thoughts drifted once again to the idea of what it would have been like if they had ended up together. Would they have lasted or would he be here telling some other girl he didn't feel the same way about her.

'Well,' she reasoned with herself, 'Erik much more interesting than either of them. He's certainly more charming, in any case. And handsome…'

She smiled brightly at James and stood up.

"It time for me to get on home," she told him, grabbing her messenger bag and slinging it over her shoulder, "my mother will already badger me on why I was late."

James said nothing but opened his mouth about to say something.

'Just walk away…' she told herself.

"Okay, well, later!" Christine yelled waving and backing away.

She rolled her eyes as she quickly walked over to her car, eager to get home and clear her head. Why, after so many years, did she still find herself attracted to James! It was such a long time ago and he never even gave any indication that he would be interested in her. Christine stopped in front of her car and dug in her red leather purse for her car keys. After a few minutes of searching and not finding them, her temper got the better of her.

"For the love of God!" Christine screamed to the vacant parking lot, "When will high school be over! So much stupid drama!"

A shrill giggle in the background seemed to be the only answer to her question. Slightly startled, she glanced over towards the direction of the previously mentioned giggle, which happened to be Andre's carand noticed a girl with long brown hair and blue highlights...

Christine's anger dissolved as she laughed outloud.

'Meg, Meg, Meg...well, at least someone's enjoying high school...'

She finally realized that her keys were in her pocket and silently unlocked the doors, as not to disturb her friends, throwing her stuff in the backseat and climbing in to start the car. As she was reversing out of the parking space, her thoughts drifted to Prom and of her Lady Red Death costume.

"This is going to be interesting..."

**Well, that's pretty much the last filler chapter. I'm sorry it isn't very long, but unlike eijoshie, I despise filler chapters and I suck at writing them. MEH! Okay, well, you know the drill! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	22. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO or Mr. Brightside by The Killers

**OMFG! I hope all of you have heard that the petition that some of you may have signed worked and Phantom, Susan Kay's masterpiece is going to be published again! OMG! I heard the news days ago and I still get really excited when I think about it! SQUEEEE!**

**Well, well, well…it's weird! The summer is almost over and my last day at Bojangles is nearing! Flew by! Thank you for reviewing! 92 reviews! sobs wildly Well, here's the next chapter!**

"Mom! Will you please get the door?"

Christine peered in between the slightly dusty off white blinds in her room, noticing Erik's car drive up her street and park in the drive way. She drew back from the window as he stepped out of the car, not wanting to catch a peek of his costume and not wanting him to get a glance at hers.

It was precisely 7:30 on April 23, the much anticipated Saturday of prom. Even though she went to the prom last year and knew that it was nothing extremely special, she was still nervous and excited about the evening, having abandoned her place at the window and pacing around her brightly lit room. Perhaps it was the fact that she was going with someone she really cared about this year.

Christine ceased her pacing and stood in front of her full length mirror for perhaps the hundredth time that day, and was pleased to discover she was actually happy with the way she looked. After much running around town with Meg and spending several hours on the internet searching for the perfect dress, she finally decided to check the store she had bought her prom dress from last year, in the neighboring city thirty minutes away. To her delight, she had been lucky once again, finding a gorgeous strapless gown of scarlet satin with an overlay of shear, black fabric decorated by black and silver beading.

'I still can't get over how much I love this dress!' she thought to herself gleefully, running her blood red gloved fingers delicately over the beading, tracing the intricate swirling designs with the tips.

Staying true to the Masquerade theme, Erik and Christine both ordered skull masks, Christine's a little smaller, from a website dedicated to elaborate costumes. She gently placed the skull mask over her eyes, heavily lidded with black makeup, and carefully secured her necklace of black stones, in the shape of a black rose, of course, and matching earrings. Her short black hair was twisted into a curly, elegant up do with a few loose tendrils framing her face, held up by a rhinestone comb, belonging to her mother. Christine glanced at her reflection in the mirror again and smiled widely at what she saw. She certainly was the Lady Red Death tonight. Now she just needed to join her Lord…

Christine squealed a little bit with excitement as she tried to imagine once again Erik's costume for the night. Deciding not to wait any longer, she sprayed herself once more with the perfume she used only on special occasions, grabbed her black satin clutch, slipped on her simple black heels, and turned off the overhead light in her room.

She glided elegantly down the darkened, carpeted hallway, pausing only to make sure the train of her dress wasn't caught on anything, and made her decent down the slightly curving stairs, much more gracefully than normal as she usually jumped the stairs two at a time. Christine paused at the bottom step, listening to Erik and her mother's light conversation in the kitchen.

"Okay," she whispered softly to herself, bending down to place her purse on the bottom step, "here it goes!"

Pulse racing, Christine turned on her heel to face the kitchen, and Erik. Her heart stopped momentarily, stunned with the vision in scarlet red that she beheld. When Erik told her that she would be pleased with his costume, he was dead on. He seemed to have stepped out of the silver screen as his costume resembled The Phantom of the Opera's in every detail, from the stunning red coat and long, elegant cape, to the gleaming silver rapier tied to his waist.

Christine remained in the shadows of the dim entrance area until Erik, who appeared to be as taken aback with her costume as she was with his, regained his composure and sauntered forward to her. He held out a silky black gloved hand to her which, on closer inspection, revealed the most beautiful long stemmed red rose that she had ever seen intertwined between his long, artistic fingers.

Not entirely sure if this was a dream or not, Christine shook her head gently, as not to upset her hair, her heart racing once more as she discovered the Red Death to be a reality.

"Thank you," Christine said shyly accepting the rose from Erik's waiting hand. She laughed a little as she realized that he had even tied a black ribbon around the stem, amused that he had gotten the idea from the movie that she loved so much and touched that he had remembered.

Erik seemed to exhume a powerful grace as he walked closer to her, obviously very confident as the Red Death. He was certainly not clumsy in the way he normally carried himself, but tonight he took that natural elegance to the next level. He drew closer to her, his grey eyes sparkling from within the impressive skull mask.

"You look wonderful," he stated sincerely to her, grabbing both of her hands and pulling her in for a kiss. As much as Christine would have loved to continue, she suddenly remembered her mother watching from the kitchen and reluctantly pulled away.

"So do you," she whispered to him before squeezing his gloved hand and turning towards her mother who she noticed was staring at them disapprovingly.

"Christine," her mother said firmly, "let me get a few pictures."

Christine rolled her eyes and sighed, turning to Erik who, even with the intimidating mask of death, wore a look of understanding. She smiled at him and walked forward to the light of the kitchen, the rose still clutched in her hand. Ms. Day ushered them in front of the family room fire place and snapped countless pictures of the couple in various poses, the expressions on Erik and Christine's faces becoming more and more impatient to join Meg and Andre for dinner. Finally, Ms. Day ceased snapping pictures, announcing that the film had run out of her camera, Erik raising eyebrows as he had witnessed her putting a brand new roll of film in the camera not ten minutes ago, and Christine jumped on the opportunity to tell her mother of their dinner plans.

"Well, ok," her mother agreed, putting the camera back in its bag, "I wouldn't want you to be late."

Without a second word, Christine and Erik rushed from the fireplace to gather their things in case Ms. Day changed her mind, remembering the extra roll of film she had stored in the first cabinet in the kitchen.

"Bye! Love you mom!" Christine yelled from the door, her purse and cloak, made especially by Meg's mother to match her dress extremely well.

"When will you be back?" she heard her mother yell from the family room.

"Not till tomorrow morning, remember I'm spending the night with Meg?"

"Oh yes. Well, have fun! And behave!"

The front door closed not a moment to soon as Christine burst out laughing at her mom's last remark, managing to control her laughter to lock the door.

"Behave?" she asked Erik, bending a little awkwardly to grab the loop on the inside of her train, "I swear, she thinks I'm such a hooligan."

"Well, look at the people you hang out with," Erik said as they began the walk to his car, his grey eyes shinning with amusement, "your mother nearly had a heart attack when she saw me at the door. The expression on her face was priceless."

Christine laughed as she imagined what her mother thought when she answered the door to behold Erik in all his dark glory as the Red Death. Erik rushed forward, still as graceful as before, to open the passenger for Christine and extended his hand once more to her. Smiling shyly again, she accepted his hand and allowed him to help her into the low seated convertible. He closed the door with a winked which made her giggle again and crossed the front of the car as she looked to the beautiful rose still in her hand and twirled it delicately. She continued to play with the rose as Erik entered the car and turned the key, putting it into reverse. It wasn't until they had reached the end of the street did she look up at him again, carefully determining when it was safe to pull into the adjacent street.

Christine smiled at his profile and turned her attention to the orange setting sun, remembering the last time they were in his car together. Her insides squirmed with guilt at the memory, wishing that she could just forget it had ever happened.

'Come on!' she thought angrily to herself, 'be happy! Tonight is going to be great!'

* * *

Dinner with Andre and Meg was an eventful affair. After securing a table at one of the best restaurants in their small town, the competition was very slim; they enjoyed each other's company as they talked about the past four year of high school. The restaurant, Gounod, if you care to know, was a nicely sized building, imitating the look that it had been built by grey stones and wood. Inside was a nice atmosphere, classical music playing softy in the background, pictures and paintings of nature covering the walls, burgundy chairs and booths with shining wooden tables filling the dinning room. Christine stifled a yawn as her eyes underwent the transition from the orange, setting sun to the dim lights of the restaurant. 

Meg looked ravishing in her deep purple, two-piece mock gown with sparkly lavender fairy wings attached to the back, complete with matching mask. Her long brown hair was pulled into a half bun, the remaining locks spiraling down her back. A silver butterfly necklace glittered at her neck, which Christine discovered, was a gift from Andre.

Andre, on the other hand, decided to come as a pirate. Christine and Erik held their breath when they first beheld him, trying desperately not to laugh. According to Meg, who whispered this information to Christine while Andre was poking the waiter with his hook, Andre had flat out refused to wear the glittery fairy costume that Meg had picked out for him and bought a cheap plastic pirate costume at the last minute.

"But its ok," Meg said smiling, her fingers tracing the delicate wings of her butterfly necklace, "he made it up to me by getting me this."

After about an hour and a half, they had finished dinner and because it was prom night, Gounod was booked solid. They got tired of all the hungry looking high school students waiting in the lobby for a table and scowling at them as they picked at the remains on their plates, so they left a tip and headed out into the dark, grey dusk, deciding to head to the convention center at which the prom was being held even if it was a little early.

* * *

Christine's eyes widened at the sight that lay ahead of her. For a cheesy high school prom, she had to admit that the prom committee did do a great job. 

The large ballroom was dark, save for a large, golden chandelier positioned in the center of the ceiling. Silky, red yards of fabric meeting at the chandelier and stretching easily to every side of the room heightened the effect, along with matching table coverings. Sprinkled on the tables were tiny silver stars and masks, simmering in the light of small, gold candelabras. In three corners of the room were rose covered archways, perfect for photo opportunities, along with a glistening swan ice sculpture. The customary refreshments were set up along the left corner of the wall, red and gold covered tables groaning under silver platters of crackers, cheese, cold cuts, punch, and several dessert choices.

Christine's favorite part, of course, was the low stage on the back wall of the room, on which they would be performing. The band members, along with an enthusiastic Meg, had come after school on Thursday to set it up and achieved marvelous results. After arguing with the head of the prom committee for some of their red fabric, Erik, Andre, and James covered the ugly brown stage with the acquired fabric, giving Meg and Christine the idea of outlining the edges of the stage with a chain of black roses. They hung another large amount of black fabric on the wall behind the stage, illuminated by several strands of lights, courtesy of Andre's mother.

To top it all of, Erik had designed and made a logo for the band, a stunning deep red background with Mask and black Rose written out in an elegant script, except for a picture of a full white mask replacing the M, and black roses winding around the B and R. Christine smiled at the magnificent logo and seriously considered having a shirt made of it.

Christine was brought back to reality by the horrible music that was currently booming from a stereo, obviously belonging to one of the prom committee members. She cringed as she noticed how many people were actually "dancing" to 50 Cent's In Da Club.

"Ugh!" Christine exclaimed to Erik, covering her ears with her hands, "When do we get to start!"

"Not until 9," Erik said shaking his head and covering one of his own ears, "we need to set up anyway."

Christine nodded, gave him a swift peck on the lips, and walked over to Meg, the train of her gown flowing gracefully behind her, who had managed to recognize some of their friends even in their various masks.

She clutched her bag, only partially listening to the conversation, preferring to partake in one of her favorite hobbies, people watching. Her eyes scanned the crowd as she took in the sights and sounds around her, the goofy, happily chatting underclassmen who had been invited by older students, the girls comparing and fawning over everyone's gorgeous costumes, the single guys who had come in a pack, sitting at the same table and scowling unpleasantly at everyone else, and to the loving couples, making their graceful entrances into the ballroom, beaming at everyone around them.

Among them, she spotted Raoul, Carlotta practically attached to his arm.

Even though Carlotta was wearing a white mask and he was wearing a black hat pulled over his face, she could have recognized him anywhere with his coal black hair, which was cut suspiciously like a bowl cut, his short, clumsy stature and his…mustache…

The anger that had gripped her heart like a cobra squeezing its prey suddenly relaxed and was replaced with embarrassment as she watched him. What the hell was she thinking when she said yes?

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't pull her eyes away from him, as much as the very sight of him caused her entire body to shake and her stomach to clench. Did she like to torture herself, staring at them as they strutted around the ballroom, waving and sniggering with people that she once considered her best friends?

Meg and her other friends had decided to check out the refreshments, leaving Christine, The Lady Red Death, motionless and silent in the middle of the dance floor, her watching secluding her from all of the celebrating revelers around her.

Raoul finally tilted his head up, displaying his masquerade costume to all those around him, causing Christine break her silence and gasp aloud.

He was The Phantom of the Opera. The Phantom of the Fucking Opera!

Christine watched in horror as he twirled around, causing his cloak that she had just noticed to spin around his short frame. Carlotta, she now realized, had come as Christine Daae, wearing an ugly looking white lace disaster with puffy sleeves, making it look as if it had come from a wedding straight out of the 80's.

Raoul turned his face towards her, his costume now in full display; reveling to her the mask he was wearing was none other than the one she had bought him for Christmas. She even remembered giving it to him!

"Don't let it bother you," she whispered desperately to herself, trying to prevent the tears that were about to fall.

Her sad attempt failed as, with a pang to her heart, she saw them kiss each other, Raoul sifting the white half mask to the side.

_Coming out of my cage _

_And I've been doing just fine _

_Gotta gotta be down _

_Because I want it all _

_It started out with a kiss _

_How did it end up like this? _

_It was only a kiss _

_It was only a kiss_

Tears of jealously started to fall as she heard the song she knew so well. For the first time, since that first time she had listened to it driving in her car to Raoul's house, she truly understood what it meant.

_Now I'm falling asleep _

_And she's calling a cab _

_While he's having a smoke _

_And she's taking the drag_

Her body cold, her heart empty, she began to do what seemed the thing to do. Dance. The song enveloped her as she closed her eyes, and twirled around, remembering the time when Raoul had spun her around, shortly after their first kiss.

_Now they're going to bed _

_And my stomach is sick _

_And it's all in my head _

_But she's touching his chest now _

_He takes off her dress now _

_Let me go _

_And I just can't look _

_It's killing me _

_And taking control_

_Jealousy _

_Turning saints into the sea _

_Turning through sick lullaby _

_Joking on your alibi _

_But it's just the price I pay _

_Destiny is calling me _

_Open up my eager eyes _

_I'm Mr. Brightside_

Erik continued to play as he watched Christine's dance, certain of what had inspired it. He too had noticed Raoul and Carlotta's exchange of affections and Christine's reaction. Before it was even time for the band to start, Erik had begun to play, sickened and jealous by what he saw.

_Coming out of my cage _

_And I've been doing just fine _

_Gotta gotta be down _

_Because I want it all _

_It started out with a kiss _

_How did it end up like this? _

_It was only a kiss _

_It was only a kiss _

_Now I'm falling asleep _

_And she's calling a cab _

_While he's having a smoke _

_And she's taking the drag _

_Now they're going to bed _

_And my stomach is sick _

_And it's all in my head _

_But she's touching his chest now _

_He takes off her dress now _

_Let me go _

_And I just can't look _

_It's killing me _

_And taking control_

Christine finally broke down, swept up in the lyrics of the song. The Lady Red Death sunk on her knees to the dance floor, her emotions oblivious to the merry couples dancing to the music that was causing her so much pain.

_Jealousy _

_Turning saints into the sea _

_Turning through sick lullaby _

_Joking on your alibi _

_But it's just the price I pay _

_Destiny is calling me _

_Open up my eager eyes _

_I'm Mr. Brightside_

'We are the Red Death, aren't we, my dear?' Erik realized, as he watched as if in slow motion, Christine allowing herself fall to the dance floor, the edges of her scarlet dress billowing as if they were the petals of a flower. 'Always alone, always in pain…always causing pain.'

_I never…_

Christine dared to raise her sunken skull eyes to look up at those around her, spinning in their everlasting dance, masked faces smiling down at her.

_I never…_

Erik felt his temper break as he watched her, forever mourning the loss of someone who never truly loved her. Not like the way he did…

_I never…_

Christine screamed as she felt a rough hand grasp her forearm and pull her up from the cold dance floor, her dress twisted around her.

_I never…_


	23. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO, End of the World by The Cure, or System from the Queen of the Damned soundtrack. I do, however, own Petals of a Black Rose. If you take it, Erik will Punjab you. And you won't get to swoon at him before hand either. So HA!

**OK! I finally have my own computer! Let me fill you in on all that has been happening in my oh so interesting life. You may not care, but what the hell! My mother and stepfather moved to California, my sister moved into her own apartment, and I am now a college student at UT! And a new member of Alpha Xi Delta! I got my gorgeomous blue Toshiba laptop yesterday! SQUEEE! So, now that my life is some what becoming normal again, the updates are back! So, here it is!**

Christine gave a small shriek of surprise as she felt herself being jerked up off the dance floor. Before she could straighten her dress from being twisted around her legs, the arm pulled her forward, through the masked couples, staring curiously at her tear streaked face. She put her head down, slightly angry at how those morons were gawking at her.

'Haven't you ever seen anyone cry before,' she thought viciously as some of the girls were pointing no doubt at the black makeup that must be streaming down the skull mask.

Christine then thought to look up at who exactly was hurriedly leading her through the vast crowd, swerving in between them to the back of the dimly lit ballroom.

'Ah, should have known.'

She no longer resisted him as she knew exactly who he was and the probable reason he opened a door at the back of the room and gently pushed her inside.

Stepping a few feet away from the door, Christine turned around, her train once again a stream of blood red stain, to address the shadow that she knew so well.

"James," she whispered.

He closed the door softly behind him, as not to arouse suspicion, and walked carefully to her, his heavy, black dress shoes making no sound on the pattern less carpet. She could see the outline of his curly blond hair in the poor light and a determined gleam in his eyes, partially hidden beneath his simple white mask.

"Christine," he began, his voice no louder than his footsteps, "you can't keep doing this."

She signed and broke eye contact with him to absentmindedly glance around the dim room. It was obviously used for conferences as large round wooden tables were scattered in an orderly fashion around the room with ample cushioned chairs. A long table covered with a plain off white cloth stretched across much of the far wall with a short podium sitting on the middle of the table. An American flag hung lackluster on a tall, brass pole to the side of the room, the flag dead looking with a strong breeze toss it about.

"I know," she said after a long pause of silence, the only noise being the booming music from the celebrating teenagers in the next room.

"Well, then why don't you do anything about it!" James said fiercely, the suddenly loud noise echoing in the near deserted room.

Christine said nothing as she knew his words to be true. She said she was over Raoul, she told herself she was over Raoul, then why did the mere sight of him make her heart and body ache?

"Christine," James tried again, regaining his former quiet tone, "I have known you for a long time. I must confess that, if the circumstances would have been different, I would have asked you out a long time ago. But, it just wasn't meant to be with us. And you went out with Raoul, who probably never loved you in the first place and you got hurt. Big deal. It happens everyday. Now you have someone who deeply cares for you, much more than Raoul could possibly have, but you keep pushing him away! Don't do this Christine, don't make him up on you."

His words struck her heart, which she clutched as she realized it to be true.

_Raoul never loved me…_

All this time, she had been desperately been clinging to that stupid promise that he had once made to her, the promise that he would love her forever. And she, hoping that her first love would be true, had believed him whole heartedly.

_What a fool I was…_

A weight seemed to be lifted from the very core of her heart, that which had been squeezing her soul painfully was released. A new light filled her eyes as she realized this revelation at smiled at it, but was quickly diminished as she thought of Erik.

_Erik…_

Without another word to James, she swept past him to the door. She felt his eyes following her and turned back to him, clad in a black tuxedo which camouflaged with the darkness.

"Thank you James," she whispered, smiling warmly, "I hope you find true love someday."

Christine left him, still smiling as she went of in search of Erik, and didn't see him shake his head slowly and take off the mask, the faint light reflecting from it, his eyes still to the door.

"Too bad it couldn't be you."

* * *

Christine strode across the ballroom, her head held high and oblivious to the stares and whispers directed towards her. She thought not of the people around her, those who were just faces in the crowd, but of the one person who was a true individual. 

_Erik…_

She reached the stage, Erik tuning his guitar and determinedly not looking at her as she scaled the platform and walked to the microphone.

'No worries,' she thought, her blue eyes drinking in every glorious inch of him, 'I will make it up to you.'

Christine took a few deep breaths and covered the microphone with her hand as she sang a few notes. She smiled gleefully to herself as she prepared herself for what was to come next.

"Petals of a Black Rose," she said simply into the microphone.

Her eyes closed momentarily as Erik began to play the opening lines and the crowd gathered curiously around the stage. She opened her eyes as she began to sing the words that she herself had written.

_You once told me you loved me._

_I was dumb enough to think you might be true._

_But then you said it was over._

_I thought you'd ripped my heart in two._

_Well I got something' to tell yah._

_I've realized that I never loved you._

_Petals of a Black Rose,_

_Twirling, swirling way up high;_

_Twirling, swirling, touch the sky…_

_Petals of a Black Rose,_

_Secrets that you'll never know._

_Crushed by your ego,_

_Affection that you never showed._

_Petals of a Black Rose,_

_Confessions of "I hate you so!"_

_Shave off your mustache,_

_All you did was make me feel low…_

Christine wrenched her eyes away from the chandelier that she had been focusing on and studied the crowd. Some of them had begun to dance to the fast pace for the music while some, including some of her old "friends" were staring at her in disbelief. They knew all too well who the song was directed at, having been given the full, if not accurate, details of the whole drama.

'Let them stare,' she thought menacingly to herself, narrowing her eyes and smirking at them before she began to sing again.

_I always hear your laughter._

_The sound that makes me wanna SCREAM!_

_Some day you're gonna get punjabbed,_

_That'll be the day of my dreams._

_I hear you've got a new girlfriend._

_The ugly one you said you'd never go out with._

_Was she the real reason we broke up?_

_Have you ever told the truth?_

_Petals of a Black Rose,_

_Twirling, swirling all around;_

_Twirling, swirling heaven bound…_

_Petals of a Black Rose,_

_Lies that you told to me._

_Actin' like a nice guy,_

_Something that you'll never be._

_Petals of a Black Rose,_

_Tears that I've shed for you._

_Streaming down my face,_

_Wondering what you knew…_

Christine dared to glance at Erik as he played his squealing guitar solo and felt her heart beat faster as she realized he was watching her.

_My Angel of Music…_

_Petals of a Black Rose,_

_Regrets that I'll never feel._

_You made me hate myself,_

_Questioning what was real._

_Petals of a Black Rose,_

_Moments that I gave to you._

_Wish I could get them back,_

_Give them to someone new._

The music started to slow some what as Christine sang the last verses, her eyes still glued to Erik.

'Please be listening to me!' she thought desperately.

_Petals of a Black Rose,_

_Memories that bring me pain._

_Dwell on them, I will not do,_

_Cause I know I'll love again._

_Petals of a Black Rose,_

_Twirling all around me._

_They mean so many things,_

_Things only I can see…_

The audience, though some very shocked, applauded loudly, but Christine paid no heed, the only approval she desired was that of Erik's. It wasn't until after the applause and the immediate sudden disinterest of the crowd did Erik finally turn to her and give her a weak smile, causing Christine to grin like an idiot.

"Christine!" she heard Meg yell in front of her, "sing something! The hooligans are getting squirrelly!"

She shook her head and turned once again towards the crowd, obviously eager to have something to dance to, cleared her throat, and without introduction began the next piece.

It was one that she had listened to many times, sometimes immediately after it had finished and reveled in the opportunity to raise her voice to the mysteriously beautiful music. She swayed side to side in time with the slow, hypnotic beat and began to sing.

_You fell away  
What more can I say  
The feelings evolved  
I won't let it out  
I can't replace your screaming face  
Feeling the sickness inside_

_Why won't you die?  
Your blood in mine  
We'll be fine  
Then your body will be mine_

Closing her eyes and allowing herself to be possessed by the rhythm of the music, Christine began a slow dance to the band's melodic sound, oblivious to the crowd that watched her silently.

_So many words  
Can't describe my face  
This feeling's evolved  
So soon to break out  
I can't relate  
To a happy state  
Feeling the blood run inside_

_Why won't you die?  
Your blood in mine  
We'll be fine  
Then your body will be mine_

A heavy, dark force of Erik and James's guitars combined with Andre's percussion took over the mysterious feel of earlier, causing the very walls of the ballroom to shake with the pure magnitude of glorious sound. Christine's singing became just as strong as she sang the lyrics, Erik accompanying her in a powerful duet.

_Why is everything so f-king hard for me?  
Keep me down to what you think I shall pay!  
Must you tempt me and provoke the ministry?  
Keep on trying I'm not dying so easily_

_I will not die...  
Why is everything so f-king hard for me?  
I will not die...  
Why is everything so f-king hard for me?  
_

Christine wrenched the microphone from its stand to join Erik where he was playing and singing through gritted teeth. His grey eyes bore into hers as they sang to each other, his looking all the more sinister in the skull mask surrounded by heavy black eye makeup and the flecks of gold gleaming in the bright lights of the stage.

_Why won't you die?  
Your blood in mine  
We'll be fine  
Then your body will be mine _

_Why won't you die?  
Your blood in mine  
We'll be fine  
Then your body will be mine _

_Why won't you die?  
Your blood in mine  
We'll be fine  
Then your body will be mine  
_

The haunting melody of the beginning became the focus once more as the song softly died away, the rapturous applause releasing Erik and Christine from their eye lock.

"Erik…" she began softly, barely heard above the din of noise.

"Shhh…" he replied, cutting her off with a gloved finger to his lips, "we'll talk later."

"Ok," Christine agreed, giving him a small smile and returning to the microphone stand.

Deciding to lighten the tone a little bit, this was prom after all, she smiled at the cheering crowd and immediately began to sing.

_Go if you want to  
I never tried to stop you  
Know there's a reason  
For all of this you're feeling  
Love its not my call  
You couldn't ever love me more  
You couldn't love me more  
You couldn't love  
_

_Me I don't show much  
Its not that hard to hide you  
See in a moment  
I cant remember how to  
Be all you wanted  
I couldn't ever love you more  
I couldn't love you more  
I couldn't love  
You want me to cry and play my part  
I want you to sigh and fall apart  
We want this like everyone else_

Stay if you want to  
I always wait to hear you  
_Say there's a last kiss  
For all the times you run this  
Way its not my fault  
You couldn't ever love me more  
You couldn't love me more  
You couldn't love _

Love me more

Christine smiled again as she noticed that most of the crowd had abandoned their places around the stage to dance to the unusual sounding music.

She caught eye contact with Meg who was jamming' in the front row and gave her a silly little wave before singing again.

_I couldn't ever love you more _

_I couldn't love you more  
I couldn't love  
_

_You want me to lie not break your heart  
I want you to fly not stop and start  
We want us like everything else _

_Maybe we didn't understand_

_It's just the end of the world_

_Maybe we didn't understand  
Not just a boy and a girl  
Its just the end of the  
end of the world  
_

_Me I don't say much  
Its far too hard to make you  
See in a moment  
I still forget just how to  
Be all you wanted  
I couldn't ever love you more_

_I couldn't love you more _

_I couldn't love you more _

_I couldn't love you more _

_I couldn't love you more…_

**Again, I'm really sorry about the extremely long hiatus. Meh! I wouldn't be surprised if I don't get any reviews at all! Don't get me wrong, they would be greatly appreciated, so…please be a good egg and review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	24. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO and as much as I wish I was talented enough to write the lyrics the ever beautiful Music of the Night, I'm not! (Note: The Music of the Night lyrics are from the movie, just in case there is any confusion)

**Wee** **Woo! I ain't got much to say except a shameless plug for my other POTO phic, The Lad with the Golden Nipples. It's a dramatic story of Frankish, the lad with the golden nipples, filled with angst, leather undergarments, Victoria Secret's gift certificates, and gender confusion. So…yeah, check it out sometime. Now on with the show!**

"Ok, that has to be the first time I have actually had a good time at a school function."

Mask and Black Rose had ended the night with a rousing rendition of "Dance Magic" from the Labyrinth and had driven to Andre's house in very high spirits, Christine intimidating David Bowie and Erik doing the freaky baby noises.

Christine smiled happily, pulling off her constricting heels and flopping on the couch, discarding the skull mask on the side table. Erik followed her example, albeit a lot more gracefully. He smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders without hesitation, the skull mask still in place. Christine returned his smile causing her to miss all of Meg's enthusiastic song and dance she had been "performing" in Andre's living room.

"Hey!" Meg yelled, getting Christine's attention by playfully hitting her on the head with a glittery sliver star wand, and startling Erik so he removed his arm, "don't diss the skillz, miss!"

"Yeah, I think it's time for someone's beddy bye time…" Andre said, putting a hand on Meg's shoulder, "she probably shouldn't have had the punch…"

Erik and Christine watched wordlessly as Andre began to lead Meg upstairs, who refused to move unless she got a piggy back ride. With a sigh and a question of why exactly he put up with her ridiculous demands, Andre squatted down so Meg could "calmly" climb on, but as it was Meg, she decide to take a wild leap, causing Andre to nearly topple over. When he had finally regained his balance and Meg was content, he looked back at Christine and Erik with a bemused look on his face.

"My parents are out of town again, as you may remember, so…yeah, just don't make _too _much noise…"

And with a tired grunt from Meg, Andre took a deep breath and began to hike up the stairs, casting a side glance at Erik. Soon they were out of sight, leaving Erik and Christine alone, both fidgeting with their gloves nervously.

"So..." Erik said a little awkwardly, clearing his throat to correct his normally flawless voice.

"So…" Christine said, unable to meet his penetrating gaze.

Several moments passed before Erik cleared his throat once more and turned to face Christine, grabbing her hands so she would stop picking at the seams in the gloves.

"Please don't get mad at me for what I'm about to say," he began, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze, "but…are you still in love with Raoul?"

Christine's heart pounded guilty as it sunk to her stomach. _Why should he even have to ask this! Maybe if you weren't such a sadistic person!  
_

She sighed and closed her eyes tightly, wishing she could go back in time and stop herself from making such a pathetic display of herself in front of Erik and her peers.

'Yeah, and Raoul's probably laughing stupidly about it in a drunken rage…'

Christine cringed as she saw the sickening scene play in her head, shuddering with anger and embarrassment. As much as she would have loved to find an extremely remote cave and hide there for the rest of eternity, Erik was before her, still holding her hands, and deserved an answer.

"I don't think I ever did…" she said solemnly, still not able to meet his gaze, "I just wanted there to be, maybe because I just wanted to believe I was loved by someone…anyone…"

"But you shouldn't have felt like that," Erik said, removing one of his gloved hands from Christine's to gently cup her chin, "So many people in this world love you. Your Mom, Meg, James really cares about you; Andre thinks you're a great person."

Christine relished the feeling of his soft, silky glove upon her skin, deciding to finally ask the question that had been plaguing her since their first breathtaking kiss.

"What about you?" she whispered, her deep blue eyes boldly locking with his grey ones, challenging him to answer her without fear.

Erik laughed confidently, the mere sound shooting goose bumps up Christine's spine.

"What about me, dearest," he crooned, his lips just centimeters away from hers.

"You know what I mean,"

Erik closed his eyes and kissed her softly, the delicate warmth of his lips upon hers rendering her speechless. He pulled back and watched with fascination as her eyes slowly fluttered open to reveal the most beautiful blue eyes he had even beheld, reflecting what he was sure his eyes were reflecting to her.

_Love_

_Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation  
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination  
silently the senses abandon their defenses_

Erik stood up, pulling a very pleasantly surprised Christine along with him. The look on her face…her perfect face, expressing every possible emotion of love and happiness urged him to continue the gorgeous song.

_Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor_

_Grasp it; sense it, tremulous and tender_

_Turn your face away from the garish light of day_

_Turn your face away from cold, unfeeling light_

_And listen to the music of the night_

_Close you eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams_

_Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before_

_Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar_

_And you'll live as you've never lived before_

Christine listened, with batted breath as Erik sang to her. She laughed a little from nervousness, having never really been sung to before. As cliché as singing to your girlfriend was, there was only sincerity in his eyes.

_Softly, deftly, music shall caress you  
Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you  
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind  
In this darkness which you know you cannot fight  
The darkness of the music of the night _

Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world  
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before  
Let your soul take you where you long to be  
Only then can you belong to me

Erik pulled her close to him, both of their hearts racing, Christine with her resting on Erik's chest peacefully. She closed her eyes, listening to his heart beat and the deep vibrations his voice was making. She relaxed, all thoughts of earlier that night disappearing with each passing phrase. It was just Erik and herself; no one need enter their world of music.

_Floating, falling, sweet intoxication  
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation  
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in  
To the harmony which dreams alone can write  
The power of the music of the night_

_Well, it's now or never…_

Erik abruptly, but gently pushed Christine away, startling her from the trance like state his melodic voice had put her under. She looked at him questioningly, wondering if she had done anything wrong, when she realized with a rush of surprise that he had finally removed his mask.

She gasped loudly, not from the horror she might have felt for his face, but the fact that he trusted her, after all she had done to him, and reveal to her his life altering secret.

Christine, being swept up in the moment, felt tears of happiness starting to form and walked slowly towards him, a warm, loving smile lighting up every feature of her face, as she softly touched the deformed cheek. Winching slightly from her delicate caress, Erik clasped her hand with his, now fearlessly looking her in the eyes, his soul lain before her.

_You alone can make my song take flight  
Help me make the music of the night_

Neither needed words to tell the other how they felt. It went without saying. Ever so silently, Erik and Christine shared one night of complete happiness together, with no one to bring them back to the cold and cruel real world where true love is only in fairy tales.

* * *

Christine opened her eyes, the bright sunlight of late morning streaming in from the windows shades. She didn't want to get up, even though for the first time in quite a while she had some one who made her want to live and laugh.

"Erik?" Christine whispered, turning around to finally see the entire person she was in love with, basked in the sunlight with no mask to hide himself under.

A little prick of disappointment went through her heart, but then alleviated itself as she thought reasonably that he must have just gone downstairs. Smiling happily, she climbed out of the guest room bed to her bag which had been placed on a sofa for her the night before by Meg. Digging her peach terry robe out from the bottom of her bag, she put it on, thankful for its warmth, and padded softly to the door.

She descended the stairs, yawning and scratching her head lazily, and skipped happily to the kitchen where she heard the voices of Erik and Meg, chatting albeit a little awkwardly.

"Good morning all!" she sang in a high voice, spotting Erik, masked once again, seated at the table and bouncing to his chair, throwing her arms around him and hugging him from behind.

She leaned in and kissed Erik on his unmasked cheek and giggled softly when she saw him blush slightly.

"Erik…what's the matter?" she whispered in a sing song voice, giving him another peck on the cheek.

"Nothing, dear," he said in his normally calm and collected tone.

Christine gave him a pat on the shoulder and walked to the refrigerator, which was much cleaner than the last time she had been visited. His seemingly indifferent tone would have normally upset her, but now she knew as she smiled back at him, that he really cared for her.

She hummed "Fifteen Birds in Five Fir Trees," to herself as she grabbed the carton of orange juice and pour herself a glass. Meg came over at this point, obviously wanting details.

"Meg, don't bother asking, nothing happened!" Christine said calmly, replacing the orange juice in the refrigerator and leaning against the counter, "don't give me that look!"

Meg stuck her tongue out at Christine and slid against the end of the counter top to move closer to her friend.

"Christine…"

"Meg!" Christine said staring pointedly at Erik.

"Alright, alright! But you are going to give me the full excruciating details later!"

Christine rolled her eyes at the ceiling, starting to dread that future conversation, when Andre, who had stepped out to grab the newspaper, snuck up behind Meg, who had been busy, fixing herself a bowl of Lucky Charms, and, with the rolled up newspaper in hand, swatted her across the behind with it. It probably would not have been a big deal, if it wasn't for the fact that Meg startled easy and just happened to have the bowl in her hand. With a loud yelp, Meg threw her hands up, sending the cereal bowl flying behind her and all over Andre.

"MEG!" Andre yelled, shaking the cereal pieces out of his hair.

"ANDRE!" Meg screamed, her hand clasped over her heart.

"IT WAS YOUR FAULT!" They said simultaneously, both seething at the other.

"Oh really..." Andre said a mad gleam in his eyes as he wiped the milk from his face.

"Andre…don't do anything rash…you know I don't like milk that much!" Meg said warily, slowly backing away from the menacing figure of the colorful marsh mellow covered Andre.

"TOO BAD!"

Meg gave a high pitched scream as she spirited around the kitchen, desperate to escape Andre's milky clutches. Andre, as he began chasing Meg around the kitchen and laughing menacingly, threw the slightly soggy newspaper, which had been the start of the whole incident, square on the table in front of Erik, who picked it up calmly and unrolled it.

Christine watched from the safety on top of the counter, laughing loudly at Meg and Andre's antics and Erik's ability to always be collected, as he spread the paper in front of him to the front page.

"Oh my God…" Erik said gasping in surprise.

A little worried about the severity of what it was to cause Erik to gasp, Christine slid off the counter, moving towards the back of his chair again.

"Erik, what is—"

Christine's heart stopped in her throat as her eyes caught the headline of the local paper. There in bold print on the front page read three words that brought tears to her eyes.

**Raoul is dead.**

"Christine…" Erik began, standing up from the chair and rolling the newspaper up again, as if a lame attempt to correct the situation.

But nothing could correct the situation. Not even her Phantom of the Opera.

**Ok…I'm just going to say this once. I have been getting some extremely rude reviews lately, all of which are incredibly ridiculous and sadly prove that even POTO phans are not immune to stupidity. If you have constructive criticism, that's great, as it should probably be brought to my attention anyway. If it is pointless bashing, save it please! If you don't have anything helpful to say, don't say it at all and don't even read my story. **

**To those reviewers who actually read the story and understand that it is just fan fiction, I want to thank you for your nice comments and I urge you to please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	25. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO or Wishing you were somehow here again.

**I just wanted to thank all of you who have left me nice reviews. I'm sorry I kind of went a little crazy, but there really is no excuse for flat out bashing like that. Especially when the people bashing haven't even read the entire story! AH! Ok, enough of that. Here's the next chapter!**

Christine gazed out of her window to the street below, the sun shining over the happy world which brought forth all of the blissful neighbors into their yards, brightening their spirits as they watched their children play games in the porches and conversed with the other happy residents. She watched them carefully, memorizing every little detail about them, hoping that one of them might give her a clue on how to simply enjoy life.

She sighed, deserting her post and pulling the heavy deep red curtains to block out the sunlight.

It had been a few days since the announcement in the newspaper…and what seemed a lifetime since she had spoken to Erik. Her thoughts drifted back many times to that silent car ride home from Andre's house, almost exactly the same as the night Raoul had said it was over. Except this time, there were no tears to shed.

Drunk driving had been the cause of his death, something which seemed to go hand in hand with prom night, but never seems a reality until it comes right up to your door as a sick surprise.

Christine had escaped the world, exiting her dark sanctuary only to eat occasionally and go to school were she talked to no one as the choice topic of conversation was Raoul's death, rumors spreading like wild fire as to what exactly happened that night.

From what she could gather, it seemed that Raoul was taking Carlotta home, both very smashed and involved in a potentially violent argument. Raoul had pulled one of his infamous angry driving stunts that Christine knew all too well, and had disregarded the red light, the other car demolishing the driver's side. Raoul had died on impact while Carlotta, with both her legs and several other bones broken, had survived to remember the accident with grief. Even now she was in the hospital, apparently still in shock, mumbling only bits and pieces of the accident to those who retold the story to the entire school.

Christine retreated to the corner of the dark room, in one of those extremely bored moods when you probably shouldn't be left alone, and slumped down to the ground, placing her head in her hands.

'What now?' she asked herself, drawing her knees closer to her chest and hugging them to her.

She shivered, not from the cold, but from the empty feeling that seemed to suck all emotion from her, turning all possible emotions into nothing. What was it that was making her feel so lifeless?

* * *

A few days later came Raoul's funeral, which had taken place Friday evening before sunset. It was a large funeral, most of the students of Cabot High in attendance. Christine showed up in a short black dress she had once bought in Florida and day dreamed of wearing on a romantic date with Raoul. The circumstances were immensely different as she slowly walked into the funeral parlor, much to the surprise of her old "friends". Despite their glares and angry words, she held her head high and clutched her black rose, determined to pay her respects.

The casket was closed, Christine involuntarily cringing as she imagined the state of the face she knew so well.

'Probably worse than Erik's…' she had thought sadly.

As tempted as she was to lift the casket lid to see for herself, Christine caught the sound of Raoul's mother sobbing bitterly, and decided it would be wrong to cause her even more pain.

"I can't believe you had the nerve to show up!"

Christine's stomach clenched as she recognized the voice of her accuser. She turned around to see Devon there, his arms crossed.

"I came here for closure, Devon," she sighed heavily, "nothing more, nothing less."

Devon seemed not to have heard her as he walked towards her eye to eye.

"You're lucky Carlotta isn't here to see you," he spat angrily, "she probably would've had a relapse."

Christine stared him down, eager to prove that she wasn't afraid of him or anyone anymore.

"Well, Carlotta would just have to deal; Raoul and I were together for a much longer time than she with him."

Devon laughed mockingly and shook his head.

"Don't you think she knows that? Don't you think that's the main reason she is so upset? That you got to spend so much time with him when you both seemed to hate each other so much at the end, and she so little?"

Christine frowned at him, her temper boiling at his words. She clenched her fists, her eyes widening as she finally let go of all that had been plaguing her since the breakup.

"Don't you dare accuse me of hating him!" she screamed, not giving a damn about the weeping crowd that glared furiously at her, "he's the one that let me down! He's the one that never told me why he didn't love me anymore! I WAS THE ONE THAT WAS USED!"

Devon stammered as she pushed past him, anxious to leave this place of anger and contempt. Christine practically flew past the inquisitive stares of the mourners, out the double French doors to the peaceful graveyard, just feet away from the funeral home.

It was a very peaceful graveyard in the nighttime, as the sun had long since set, the glorious full moon peeking over the rustling trees which surrounded the property. Christine, her previous anger alleviated, began to stroll among the gravestones, her black rose twirled around her fingers, the moonlight illuminating the words inscribed eternally. She let her eyes wander over these mysterious names and dates, most unknown to her, but one making her stop in her tracks.

"Daddy…"

Christine kneeled in front of her father's grave, which stood at the edge of the cemetery, beside the grave of her grandfather, who she could sometimes barely remember.

'It's not fair…' she thought sadly as she rearranged the simple lilies that her grandmother had undoubtedly left days before in the weak light.

Gary Michael Day, her father, had been deceased for only two years at the most, a victim of lung cancer from years and years of smoking. Perhaps he was the reason she opposed smoking so much, or maybe it was because her grandfather had died of the same disease when she was only in the fifth grade.

Her parents had divorced shortly after the death of her grandfather, her father still heartbroken from the loss. Maybe he had lost his will to live as he prompted his fate.

Christine sighed as she touched each headstone, memories flooding her mind as she did so, and as she thought of her grandmother who seemed unable to pull herself from the past.

_You were once_

_My one companion . . ._

_You were all_

_That mattered . . ._

_You were once_

_A friend and father -_

_Then my world_

_Was shattered . . ._

"Daddy, I wish you were here again, you always used to tell me what to do. Why can't I say goodbye to Raoul?"

_Wishing you were_

_Somehow here again . . ._

_Wishing you were_

_Somehow near . . ._

_Sometimes it seemed_

_If I just dreamed,_

_Somehow you would_

_Be here . . ._

_Wishing I could_

_Hear your voice again . . ._

_Knowing that I_

_Never would . . ._

_Dreaming of you_

_Won't help me to do_

_All that you dreamed_

_I could . . ._

Christine stood up, brushing the few pieces of grass off her bare knees, circling her father's gravestone. He would have known what to do. What wisdom did she miss out on when she was too young to understand the tribulations of the heart?

_Passing bells_

_And sculpted angels,_

_Cold and monumental,_

_Seem, for you,_

_The wrong companions -_

_You were warm and gentle . . ._

Tears of anger and frustration stung her eyes and threatened to fall as her mind seemed fit to burst under the strain of uncertainty. What made Raoul not love her anymore? What exactly was the argument that led to the accident? Did he realize that he loved her once more and wanted to be with her again, to the great dislike of Carlotta?

_Too many years_

_Fighting back tears . . ._

_Why can't the past_

_Just die . . .?_

_Wishing you were_

_Somehow here again . . ._

_Knowing we must_

_Say goodbye . . ._

_Try to forgive . . ._

_Teach me to live . . ._

_Give me the strength_

_To try . . ._

"NO!"

Christine threw her arms up to the starlight heavens, screaming for release. It was over! No more pathetic longing for Raoul, he was dead and gone. He didn't love her, he never did! It was all a dream!

_No more memories,_

_No more silent tears . . ._

_No more gazing across_

_The wasted years . . ._

_Help me say_

_Goodbye._

She hear the mournful cries of a bag pipe playing "Amazing Grace," and decided it was time to let her past die.

Christine ran across the moonlit strewn graveyard to the ceremony, just as Raoul's coffin lowered slowly six feet under. She glanced down at the black rose she was still holding, the very rose she had started carrying because of him and tossed it into his eternal resting place.

_Help me say_

_Goodbye…_

'Goodbye, Raoul. Maybe I can be at peace with your memory at last.'

**Ok, I'm sorry about the delay and I hope this chapter was to your liking. Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	26. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO or Silver and Cold by AFI.

**It's about over my friends, only this chapter and the next. I'm really sad to let it go, but now I'll have more time for my two other fics, The Lad with the Golden Nipples and Absolution which is a Labyrinth based fic. Well, here it is!**

Erik watched her as she tossed the black rose into Raoul's grave. Unnoticed by any of the funeral attendees, he surveyed the grim scene from atop a sloping hill which loomed protectively over the sea of graves. Dressed respectively in black, including a black half mask, Erik blended perfectly with the dark night sky merely a shadow to anyone who might happen to glance at the hill.

His grey eyes followed Christine as she walked slowly towards funeral home; her head upturned facing the night sky, stretching her arms to the stars. He watched her closely as she once again entered the building, eventually lost in the crowd of mourners, all eager to get home. Erik stood silently on the hill observing as the gravediggers finally covered Raoul's coffin, confirming his death and transcendence into memory with a final pat of the shovel.

Having completed their morbid task, the gravediggers walked away from the scene quickly, their shovels resting on their shoulders. Erik waited until he could detect no human presence, his only company being the crickets and an owl hooting softly in the distance. He glided gracefully down the sloping hill, his footsteps unheard as he walked towards the freshly covered plot of earth stopping at the point where the grass meets the dirt.

Several moments of silence slipped by, Erik's eyes focused only on the gravestone which stood before him, reading its inscription over and over again.

_Raoul Castovet_

_1987-2005_

_Loving Son and Friend _

_Taken From Us Too Soon_

Erik sighed and shook his head in sorrow. Even though he had never really met Raoul and only knew about him from others, it was still a horrible shame when life was ended so abruptly for one so young.

He thought about the things that Christine had told him about Raoul, the good and the bad. During one of those times when she was reminiscing on their relationship, she had sighed and told him that they would have gotten along well. He wasn't so sure about that at the time, but now it seemed as if he never would know.

But what was it about him that earned Christine's love for so long?

'It doesn't matter anymore…' a voice inside his head told him, 'Raoul's dead and you have Christine."

Erik frowned, scolding his bold inner voice for saying such things. Deciding it was time to leave the dead in peace; he bowed his head in respect and disappeared into the shadows once more.

* * *

He was standing in a field of black roses the sky above heralding the coming of a terrible storm. She was gliding towards him, her long white dress flowing gracefully in the wind. 

She paused momentarily to pick a rose from a bush and resumed her steady path moving closer and closer to him.

_Christine…_ he whispered softy, his words carried by the powerful wind.

She said nothing as she stood in front of him, but held out the black rose, something never seen in nature, her blue eyes beseeching him to accept it.

He took the rose from her without a moment of hesitation and pulled her to him, closing the void which separated them. As he held her close, she closed her eyes and sighed, the very sound seeming musical to him. They had begun to sway slowly in time to the rhythm of a soft lullaby which emanated from her entire being.

_Sing Sweet Nightingale_

_Sing Sweet Nightingale,_

_High above me…_

_Oh Sing Sweet Nightingale_

_Sing Sweet Nightingale,_

_High above me…_

Tears began to form in his eyes as the bittersweet melody resounded in his ears, recognizing it from a long forgotten memory of his beloved Nanny softly singing him to sleep.

_How did she know this song?_ He wondered as closed his eyes tightly; willing her painful song to stop but secretly wishing that it would never end.

Erik opened his eyes once more to look up at the sky which had transformed from the ominous clouds of a powerful storm to a myriad of color. Soft purples, blues, pinks, and oranges swirled together around a setting sun which illuminated the radiant colors with its dying light.

A tear of joy and sorrow trailed its way down his face and as he raised an arm to brush it away, he realized with a shock of horror that he wasn't wearing a mask.

Erik pushed her away immediately breaking the melodious spell of peace, his heart sinking at the look of confusion and hurt etched across Christine's face. He raised his arm to feebly cover his deformity and turned away, certain that Christine would run away in fear. A prick of surprise jolted his senses as she placed a warm, comforting hand on his shoulder.

_I thought we had settled this! _Erik heard her voice say inside his head.

He turned around slowly, not believing that she was still there and felt his spirit soar as he saw her smiling at him.

Once again she offered him the black rose, Erik having dropped it in a moment of shock. Once again he accepted it without a moment of hesitation.

_I won't drop it again, _Erik said to her wordlessly.

_I know… _

As he kissed her, the song of true love running through his heart, the rose which was once black changed slowly into red as it lay intertwined between their fingers.

"I won't drop it…I promise you…"

Erik opened his eyes slowly, uncertainly. _Was it all just a dream?_ He realized with a heavy heart that which he had hoped to be true was just his imagination. His relationship with Christine was still unsure, still hesitant, still on the edge…

_Must I always keep away from the edge?_

He yawned and rolled out of bed, his room in total darkness as the seasonal rain showers hindered the sunlight for at least a month. The alarm clock which sat on his night stand read 10:25 in bright red letters, illuminating the smooth leather of the black mask he had worn the night before.

"Damn it all…" he cursed to himself silently, reaching for the mask and placing it on his face.

_Another day of hiding from the world…_

After he had dressed and gotten ready for the day, he exited his room and without even bothering to check if his father was in the kitchen, grabbed his car keys and left the empty house, locking the door.

The rain fell steadily down, a rumble of thunder in the distance, cars speeding past…

_I... I came here by day, but I left here in darkness_

_And found you, found you on the way_

_And now, it is silver and silent, it is silver and cold_

_You, in somber resplendence, I hold_

_Your sins into me_

_Oh, my beautiful one_

_Your sins into me_

_As a rapturous voice escapes, I will tremble a prayer_

_And I'll beg for forgiveness_

_(Your sins into me) Your sins into me_

_Oh, my beautiful one_

Erik drove fast, the rain beating angrily upon his windshield as the wipers fought in vain against it. He didn't know where he was going or why he was crazy enough to drive in such horrible weather, but one thing he knew for certain. He wasn't going to let go again.

_Light, like the flutter of wings, feel your hollow voice rushing into me_

_As you're longing to sing_

_So I... I will paint you in silver; I will wrap you in cold_

_I will lift up your voice as I sink_

_Your sins into me_

_Oh, my beautiful one, now_

_Your sins into me_

_As a rapturous voice escapes, I will tremble a prayer_

_And I'll beg for forgiveness_

_(Your sins into me) Your sins into me_

For the first time in his troubling and confused existence he had finally found someone who understood his heartache and his tears…_someone who loved him_. He would be damned if he was going to let something which was beyond their control wreck their chance at happiness, at what lie beyond the edge.

_Cold in life's throws, I'll fall asleep for you_

_Cold in life's throws, I only ask you turn away_

_Cold in life's throws, I'll fall asleep for you_

_Cold in life's throws, I only ask you turn_

_As they seep... into me, oh, my beautiful one, now_

_Your sins into me_

_Oh, my beautiful one_

_Your sins into me_

_As a rapturous voice escapes, I will tremble a prayer_

_And I'll beg for forgiveness_

_(Your sins into me)_

_Your sins into me... oh_

_Your sins into me_

_Oh, my beautiful one, now_

_Your sins into me_

_As a rapturous voice escapes, I will tremble a prayer_

_And I'll beg for forgiveness_

_(Your sins into me) Your sins into..._

_(Your sins into me) Your sins into me_

_Oh, my beautiful one_

**AHH! You have no idea how hard that was to write! I'm sorry it's not very long…especially since I have been a bad egg and not updated in a while…meh…I'M SORRY! Blame my professors, if you must! Please review if you aren't too ticked at me! Love and Peace! Kupo!**


	27. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own POTO or Point of No Return.

**Here I am on New Year's Day ending this story. It seems fitting. Happy 2006!**

"FIVE…FOUR…THREE…TWO…ONE!"

One could hardly hear the bell of Cabot High ringing one last time due to all the weary students screaming with delight at the arrival of summer vacation. The halls were filled with shouts of goodbye, laughter, and even tears from the parting seniors who would never again enter the building as students. Teachers looked on the mass of teenagers with contempt as they gave each other piggy back rides, signed last minute yearbooks, and general chaos reigned as they ran to the sunny glass doors, eager to throw down their backpacks and embrace the traditional summer pastimes.

A few students lingered, however, waiting to meet up with friends and calmly, yet quickly exit the school.

One of them was Christine.

'Where _is _that Meg!' she thought impatiently in the theater lobby as she watched a group of what looked like freshmen celebrating the fact that they made it through their first year of high school still in one piece. Much skipping was involved in this age old tradition.

"High school is finally over! Can you believe it!"

Christine removed her gaze from the enthusiastic freshmen and turned to find her best friend standing beside her.

"I know!" she answered, smiling happily, "It took long enough!"

Meg nodded her head in agreement and grabbed Christine's arm.

"Come on let's get out of here!" She said, leading Christine towards the nearest door, "I've had enough of this hell hole to last a lifetime!"

Christine laughed and squinted against the bright sun as they left the building.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!"

And with that, she triumphantly raised her left hand in the air and made a rather rude gesture over her shoulder in the direction of the front office.

After a while of dancing in the parking lot to My Chemical Romance, of course, blasting loudly from Meg's mom's car, the two friends decided it was time to call it quits and head home.

"What are you doing tonight?" Meg asked Christine who was picking up her rather worn and very empty messenger bag from the pavement.

"Meh…nothing," she answered, throwing the strap of her bag over her shoulder, "you?"

The brunette bit her bottom lip momentarily and answered, suddenly nervous.

"Well…Andre told me about this concert tonight over at Rafter's, sounded pretty interesting. Want to go?"

"Sure," Christine shrugged, taking her car keys out of her pocket, not noticing Meg's sudden change of behavior, "want me to drive?"

Meg nodded slowly and turned away from Christine, fumbling with her own keys.

"How about 8:15?"

"Right-o!" Christine said in a cheerful voice and walked briskly in the direction of her car.

Meg turned to watch her leave and sighed. She opened the door to the car and climbed in, fastening her seat belt and turning the ignition.

As she put the car in drive and exited the parking lot, she turned up the radio and glanced in her rear view mirror. In it she saw Christine, not in the cheerful manner that she was moments before, in one of obvious sadness as leaned against her car scanning the parking lot. It didn't take a genius to realize who she was looking for.

Meg shook her head and turned her attention once more to the road in front of her.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Andre…"

* * *

Christine immediately logged on to her laptop as soon as she got home and flopped onto her bed, eager to catch up on all her favorite websites and, of course, fan fiction.

The hours of sunlight dwindled rapidly as she lost herself in all of her favorite stories. She signed with contentment as she finished reading an update and had just finished writing a short review as she absentmindly glanced in the direction of the little clock at the bottom of the screen. This earned a double take as she realized what time it was.

_7:45!_

Christine swore loudly as she quickly turned off her laptop and ran to her closet, wrenching the door open and flicking the light switch.

'Just perfect!'

She remembered angrily that she had not done laundry in quite a while, which was the explanation for the slightly too big "CATS" t-shirt and ripped jeans she currently wore. Well, that was all good for the last day of school, but a concert?

Heck no!

She left the house fifteen minutes later, after a quick stammer of explanation to her mother as she grabbed her car keys and cell phone from the kitchen table. A long, flowy burgundy skirt trailed behind her as rushed to the green Honda which was parked in the drive way. Paired with a lacey, ivory peasant top with a built in, or rather on, black corset like top and sequined black sandals, she did not look at all like she was on her way to a rock concert, but it would do.

Arriving at Meg's a few minutes late, she stopped to the side of the street and finished applying her makeup as Meg opened the passenger's side door laughing.

"And what, pray tell, is so funny?" Christine asked sharply as she flicked her mascara wand on her eyelashes a few times in the rear view mirror.

"Nothing, nothing," Meg answered lightly, smiling at Christine, "It's just that I _knew_ you would be late."

Christine laughed and rolled her eyes at Meg.

"Whatever!" she retorted, starting the car again and turning in the direction that would take them to Rafter's.

* * *

A feeling of uneasiness settled on Christine as she pulled into a vacant space in the Rafter's parking lot near the building. This would have been a remarkably lucky find if it wasn't for the fact that the entire parking lot was deserted.

"Meg," Christine said slowly turning in her seat to face her friend, "I thought we were going to a concert, not an empty parking lot."

Meg simply looked forward at the dark brick building, averting Christine's puzzled expression. She was clearly hiding something.

"We are…in a way," she said, hardly concealing her excitement, "well, I guess I am. You, on the other hand…"

Before Christine could phrase another question, Meg had leapt out of the car and skipped across to Christine's side, opening the door and pulling her insistently from her seat.

"Alright, alright!" Christine panted, struggling to keep her flimsy sandals on her feet, "let me at least lock the car so we have a car to come back to!"

The raven haired teenager managed to lock the car with a reassuring "honk" to ensure that it would be safe as Meg pulled her into the building and shut the doors behind them, plunging the two girls in a still darkness.

As Christine paused momentarily, allowing herself to become accustom to the black void which lay before her, she realized with a sudden jolt of fear that Meg was no longer guiding her. Hesitantly, she glided her arm in the air around her, hoping that she would bump into Meg. After a few moments of this, however, she realized that she was quite alone.

'Just perfect,' she thought, turning her head every which way, 'now I can't even find the way out!'

Deciding that her best bet was to just continue forward in search of light and to find out where the hell Meg had disappeared too, she began a painfully slow creep, her arms before her like a zombie's, feeling more and more idiotic which each passing moment.

Christine continued in this manner for what seemed like hours until the only sound she could hear was her own rapid heart beat pounding in her ears, increasing from nervousness with each step she took.

'Maybe singing something will help calm me down,' she thought, shivering slightly as she swore something had just brushed past her.

Her mind reeled with lyrics as she tried to decide upon the most appropriate song for this situation. Unfortunately, there aren't many songs that came to her mind which involved walking alone in the dark, scared half to death. Before she realized what she was doing, a hesitant voice, barely above a whisper escaped her lips.

_No thoughts were in her head_

_But thoughts of joy,_

_No dreams within her heart_

_But dreams of love!_

The soft lyrics had no sooner ended in a delicate echo as four very soft lights appeared just before her. Christine's arms dropped immediately to her side as she let her eyes dart curiously around her. She had journeyed down the long hallway which connected the outside world to the moderately sized stage area of Rafter's. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she peered ahead and noticed the instruments set upon the stage ready for a concert. It wasn't until she had moved closer did she realize that those instruments were those of "Mask and Black Rose".

Even more confused that she was before, Christine instinctively turned her back on the stage, eager to retreat into the darkness which she had feared only moments before. She had taken only a few steps, however, when a beautifully familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.

_You have come here_

_In pursuit of_

_Your deepest urge,_

_In pursuit of_

_That wish,_

_Which till now_

_Has been silent,_

_Silent . . ._

Christine turned slowly, a truly unbelievable sight meeting her gaze. There just in front of the stage stood Erik dressed from head to toe in black, a long cloak stirring gently in the cool draft which whipped throughout the empty building. It seemed that they were the only two people in the world as he began to sing once again.

_I have brought you,_

_That our passions_

_May fuse and merge -_

_In your mind_

_You've already_

_Succumbed to me_

_Dropped all defenses_

_Completely succumbed to me -_

_Now you are here with me:_

_No second thoughts,_

_You've decided,_

_Decided . . ._

Erik seemed to glide as he moved closer and closer to Christine. All of her thoughts became engrossed with watching his graceful progress towards her and she didn't realize that his voice was no longer the only sound in the room. The other members of "Mask and Black Rose" had begun the soft, seductive melody to which Erik's incomparable voice harmonized with.

_Past the point_

_Of no return -_

_No backward glances:_

_The games we've played_

_Till now are at_

_An end . . ._

_Past all thought_

_Of "if" or "when" -_

_No use resisting:_

_Abandon thought,_

_And let the dream_

_Descend . . ._

He now stood behind her, holding her in his firm but loving embrace, his voice ringing in her ears.

_What raging fire_

_Shall flood the soul?_

_What rich desire_

_Unlocks its door?_

_What sweet seduction_

_Lies before_

_Us . . .?_

_Past the point_

_Of no return,_

_The final threshold -_

_What warm,_

_Unspoken secrets_

_Will we learn?_

_Beyond the point_

_Of no return . . ._

Christine smiled to herself as he pulled away, tracing the curves of her arm to her hand, ending in a kiss. She abruptly turned from him and adjusted the sleeves of her blouse which had fallen bellow her shoulder. Running from this moment was the last thing on her mind, _but if he wants to play_, she thought wickedly, _let's play…_

_You have brought me_

_To that moment_

_Where words run dry,_

_To that moment_

_Where speech_

_Disappears_

_Into silence,_

_Silence . .. _

_I have come here,_

_Hardly knowing_

_The reason why . . ._

_In my mind,_

_I've already_

_Imagined our_

_Bodies entwining_

_Defenseless and silent -_

_And now I am_

_Here with you:_

_No second thoughts,_

_I've decided,_

_Decided . . ._

She paused momentarily to grin with delight to herself at the effect her words were clearly having on him. Her sleeves had once again fallen, but she paid them no heed.

_Past the point_

_Of no return -_

_No going back now:_

_Our passion-play_

_Has now, at last,_

_Begun . . ._

_Past all thought_

_Of right or wrong -_

_One final question:_

_How long should we_

_Two wait, before_

_We're one . . .?_

She had begun to move coyly towards him, allowing her fingers to lightly skim the fabric of his cloak across his back. Erik watched her as she twirled around, her burgundy skirt billowing for a moment before it clung around her form as she began to sing once more.

_When will the blood_

_Begin to race_

_The sleeping bud_

_Burst into bloom?_

_When will the flames,_

_At last, consume_

_Us . . .?_

Their voices met in a fierce, almost elemental clash, soared and swooped together as they reached the final, passionate duet.

_Past the point_

_Of no return_

_The final threshold -_

_The bridge_

_Is crossed, so stand_

_And watch it burn . . ._

_We've passed the point_

_Of no return . . ._

No longer apart, the two singers now held each other in a tight embrace, never wanting to let the other go. Erik gently tilted her head up, his eyes like golden fire as he whispered a new song to her.

_Say you'll share with_

_Me one_

_Love, one lifetime . . ._

_Lead me, save me_

_From my solitude . . ._

Christine's eyes began to fill with tears as she realized what he was saying. She smiled up at him as a tear fell down her cheek. There was only one thing she could do.

_For once, The Phantom will have Christine's love_…

_Say you want me_

_With you,_

_Here beside you . . ._

_Anywhere you go_

_Let me go too -_

_Christine_

_That's all I ask of . . ._

But Erik never reached the "you". For Christine interrupted him, not by rudely tearing off his mask, but with a kiss.

**Ok…I lied…there is going to be one more chapter! It won't be a very long one, but just so everything will be nicely wrapped up. Expect it up pretty soon! Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo! **


	28. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: For the last time…I do not own POTO! Or Before I'm Dead by the kidneythieves.

**O KK…here it is! The final chapter! And I'm serious this time!**

Graduation day arrived for the seniors, much to everyone's delight, that following Saturday in the football stadium. It was a beautiful day; the light blue sky filled with sunlight and fluffy, white clouds that rolled by as the birds flew between their shadows.

Christine was slightly uncomfortable considering her robe was made of the most heat attracting black fabric one could imagine and passed most of the ceremony by braiding the tassel on her mortarboard over and over again.

_Moon hangs around_

_A blade over my head_

_Reminds me _

_What to do before I'm dead_

_Night consumes light _

_And all I dread_

_Reminds me what to do before I'm dead_

She paused, however, when a moment of silence was held in honor of Raoul. An empty chair filled with roses served as a reminder of where he would be sitting if he was with them. Several of Raoul's closest friends, including Carlotta, walked slowly up to the podium to collect his diploma during this time. Christine could not help but watch, along with the rest of her classmates, as Carlotta dabbed her eyes with a white handkerchief and returned to her seat, head down and shoulders slumped, clutching Raoul's diploma in her shaking hand.

Any grudge she had against Carlotta disappeared at that moment as she realized how much pain and grief she must be suffering from.

'Maybe she loved him,' she thought to herself giving an encouraging smile to Carlotta who was looking in her direction. Carlotta returned the smile gratefully, tears streaming down her face.

_Sun reclines, heats my mind_

_Reminds me what to leave behind_

_Light eats night and all I never said_

_Reminds me what to do before I'm_

She waited until Carlotta had looked away to return her gaze to the left in Erik's direction. His form was hunched over, no doubt pouring over a piece of paper writing away on song lyrics. Christine smiled once more and felt a warm sensation rise and bloom in her heart.

_To see you_

At that moment, their row, the "D" row, rose to file one by one up to the podium to collect their diplomas. Christine's name was called first, she walked across the makeshift podium over to the principal, praying that she didn't trip, to shake his hand and receive her reward for all her hard work in high school.

_To touch you_

As Christine was just about to have the customary picture of the principal handing her diploma taken, she jumped as someone yelled her name, extremely loud.

She looked around to find the culprit as her eyes settled on Erik, looking directly at her, with a mischievous golden gleam in his eyes. The picture which was finally taken showed Christine looking to the side, a huge smile across her face and her eyes filled with warmth.

_Like I love Erik…_

The summer passed much like any other, but to Christine, it was the best summer she had had since she was a little girl, when her parents still together and they took family vacations to Florida, jumping the waves at the beach.

Although she did have to get a job at a local fast food restaurant to help pay for her upcoming year at college, much of her spare time was spent with Erik, Meg, Andre, and even Carlotta, with whom she had made peace with. "Mask and Black Rose" performed several times around the area at events, all the while writing new songs and gaining even more popularity.

The time she spent with Erik was what she treasured the most; those nights they had nothing to do but spend it at the park, running around the playground under the stars lived happily in her memories for years to come.

_To see you_

But all good things eventually come to an end, Christine mused, as the summer drew to a close. She quit her job a week before she was to move into her new dorm room to pack all of her things and spend some extra time with her mother. Faced with the reality that she was no longer going to see her mother everyday, Christine put in an extra effort to be agreeable as to make sure not all memories of home would be of the two of them fighting. Her goal was reached and she finally could say that she had a good relationship with the woman who had given her life.

_To touch you_

Erik, on the other hand, was still as distant as ever with his father. While Christine had still never met the man, she watched Erik when he thought no one was looking after someone mentioned their crazy parents and realized with a pang to her heart how difficult it must be to not even be able to talk with the one parent he had. She hoped that perhaps one day, his father could just accept Erik, like she and so many other people had.

_Epochs fly, reminds me_

_What I hide, reminds me_

_The desert skies _

_Cracks the spies_

_Reminds me what I never tried_

_The ocean wide salted red_

_Reminds me what to do before I'm dead_

It was on the day she was to start her new life, Meg, Erik, and Andre by her side, when she could be found sitting on the floor of her partially empty room, engrossed in her laptop, of course.

She had many email addresses, you see, and it took quite a while to check all of them.

As Christine decided, on impulse, to check an email address that she very rarely ever used, in fact she couldn't even remember the last time she had checked it, she received a frightful shock.

Therein her obscure littleinbox among theunnumerable chain letters and junk mail, was a messagefrom Raoul dated the day of their prom.

Her heart suddenly racing painfully fast, she hurriedly double clicked on the email and read began reading as soon as it opened.

_Dear Chrissie,_

_It's me, Raoul. I was just wondering how you were doing and if you were still mad at me...I'm sorry about all the things I did in the past and I miss having you as at LEAST a friend. So if you would reply to this even just to tell me you hate me I would appreciate it. I just think it's stupid that I never get the opportunity to talk to you. If you ever want to meet up around campus or anything just IM me at…well you should remember it. So if you ever want to meet up just call me or send me a message or anything...thanks..._

Tears began to fill her eyes as she finished the message. Her temper rose suddenly at the unfairness of it all as she banged her fists against the floor.

"Why did I have to get this message now! Why!"

Christine fell back on the floor, staring up at the white ceiling, waiting for the tears of grief to come.

But they never did.

As the minutes ticked by on her cell phone clock which lay by her head, she became more and more confused.

'Shouldn't I feel, I don't know, bad about this?'

A sudden realization came over her as her eyes flicked over to the open windows, sunlight streaming mercilessly into her room, the birds twittering away happily.

_The pain was no longer there!_

While his email was very surprising and completely unexpected, the sick shock she had first felt had already subsided, replaced by one of pity, not for herself, but for Carlotta who had lost a friend and, dare she say it, a lover.

Christine stood herself up and walked slowly to one of the open window, smiling as she admired the beautiful late summer's day which seemed to mirror her mood. She leaned out of the window, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in the fresh air.

It felt good to be alive.

She stood there for a long while, just relishing the moment when a car drove up and parked in the driveway. One blue eye popped open as she heard a car door open and slam shut again.

"Hey beautiful! Are you just going to hang out the window all day or are we doing to get this show on the road!"

_To see you_

_To touch you_

_To feel you _

_To tell you_

Christine's smiled widened as she recognized the voice to belong to Erik. She looked down to see his smiling face beaming up at her. Her heart caught in her throat as she marveled at his good looks again, not for the last time. He still wore the mask, but the eyes that shone from it radiated nothing but happiness.

"Just a minute, love! Let me get the last of my things!"

After blowing a kiss to Erik, she shut both windows and gathered the few things which lay scattered around her room. At last, she turned again to her laptop, Raoul's message still displayed on the screen.

"Goodbye Raoul, I won't forget the good times…"

And with that, she deleted the email, turned off her laptop, and exited her room, ready to begin a new with the people who loved her.

_The sun reclines...remind me_

_The desert skies...remind me_

_The ocean wide salted red_

_Reminds me _

_What to do before I'm…_

**The end.**

**And there it is! Man! I want to cry, but I'm just really happy! I want to thank everyone who has read this phic and given it a chance and ESPECIALLY those who have reviewed! You have no idea how much your nice reviews inspired me to make every chapter better than the last. **

**I have been asked, or rather told to write a sequel…and honestly I'm not sure at the moment! I know I want to eventually go back and rewrite some things, like adding more details and such, so look out for it on this website! I hope to see all of your smiling faces again! Well, I can imagine that you are smiling when you read it…**

**As for the song, Before I'm Dead, I just always imagine my Erik and Christine walking off into the sunset together when I listen to this song. So what if I got the idea from Queen of the Damned! It's still a nice thought…**

**Well…I suppose it's time to say goodbye for now…keep your eyes open for more of my stories!**

**Love and Peace! Kupo!**

**P.S. Please review…I'll give you Erik plushies and action figures!**


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